USA: Smoke from fires in Canada creates problems in Midwestern states
Tobacco from the forest fires raging in three Canada provinces is spreading to the US Midwestern states, awakening memories of severe pollution expanded south of Canada two years ago, during the worst in the fire times.
The pollution by the floating particles caused by tobacco is already moving to Minnesota and the neighboring states. He is expected to reach New York and other cities on the east coast in the coming days, putting tens of millions of people living in these areas at a health risk.
« Airborne suspended particles are the most serious environmental, health risk we know, » said Doug Bruz, a Public Health Researcher at the University of Conteccat Medical School. « It causes cardiovascular, respiratory and neurological damage and these smoke clouds are at very high levels compared to what we usually expose to the US. »
Forest fires have been scanning Canada since early May, forcing thousands of people to leave their homes and disturbing crude oil production in the country. Until yesterday, there were more than 200 active outbreaks, 106 of them burned uncontrollably, according to the Canadian Center for Forest Fire.
So far, 19 million acres have become ash, mainly in Alberta, Saskatsan and Manitoba.
The forest fires in Canada are portrayed in purple and in red are the cities (and states) that have been affected by the fires.
In the « reds » the air quality limits in the US
One of the worst points in the US in terms of air quality this morning, due to the fires, was Eli, in Minnesota, near the border with Manitoba. « Dangerous » air quality limits (336 in the relevant index) were recorded, according to IQair, a site that monitors air quality worldwide.
An air quality measurement of below 50 is considered « good » and the measurements between 100-300 are « unhealthy » to « very unhealthy », while the highest are considered « dangerous », according to the site.
In Dulkou, the measurement was at 309 early noon today, while in the Flynn Fly of Manitoba, about 1,300 km north and one of the points where the fires rage, the index stood at 359.
Children, the elderly and people with chronic cardiovascular disease, pulmonary and other diseases are the most vulnerable to the effects of tobacco, according to the researcher.
« The risk of hospitalization and death is low in people who are healthy and young, » he said.
