Wildfires impact health in Idaho. Besides the chance of your shelter burning, air quality affects everyone! Air pollutants can be very harmful to our health. The severity of the pollutant is determined by two factors:
- length of time exposed
- The pollutant type and concentration exposed to.
Have you ever experienced irritation to the eyes, nose and throat? Or have you had upper respiratory infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia? We’ve all experienced headaches, nausea, and allergic reactions. Short-term air pollution can aggravate these and medical conditions of individuals with asthma and emphysema.
Long-term health effects can include chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer, heart disease, and even damage to the brain, nerves, liver, or kidneys. Continual exposure to air pollution affects the lungs of growing children and may aggravate or complicate medical conditions in the elderly. Idaho generally has excellent air quality. Let’s keep it that way.
Idaho’s Department of Environmental Quality issued a statewide air quality advisory, prohibiting all open burning — including campfires, recreational fires, weed control and residential burning.