Healthy Indoors | 39
deeply into the lungs" and have adverse
effects that could result in lifelong illness.
Inhaling air polluted by wildfire can
worsen ADHD, autism, school perfor-
mance, and memory among kids, as well.
Fetuses may also be at heightened
risk if their mothers inhale toxic wild-
fire smoke. A study conducted in China
found that babies exposed to high levels
of smoke pollutants in utero may have
poorer cardiovascular health as adults.
One reason why wildfire smoke is so
toxic is because they contain chemicals
like benzo(a)pyrene, formaldehyde, and
benzene, which are released when metals,
plastic, cleaning supplies, and construction
materials get burned up and convert-
ed into microscopic particle pollution
when a fire engulfs a home or building.
We have an excellent fact resource that
highlights this. Also, wildfire smoke can
get pulled into the upper atmosphere,
where pollutants may interact with other
pollutants and become even more deadly
when it eventually falls down to earth.
The study's authors warn that "due to
our warming climate, the exposure to wild-
fire smoke is likely to only increase, with
more children exposed to wildfire smoke
as the century goes on." Indeed, wildfires
burned more acres in 2020 in the U.S. than
ever before in modern records. "We can
no longer ignore the link between warming
and wildfires. We will see more fire seasons
like 2020 in the future," says University of
Colorado fire scientist Jennifer Balch.
"We know wildfires are going to
become more extreme, due to climate
change," Rosana Aguilera, study co-author
and postdoctoral scholar at the University
of California, San Diego's Scripps Institu-
tion of Oceanography, told The Guard-
ian. "And it's important that we start to
reckon with the health effects of that."
For more information and help-
ful tips to stay safe, check out "Wild-
fire Smoke and Your Health"
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