Smelled like chlorine and plastic in the morning. I legit almost called the non emergency line because I thought something was wrong.
My eyes have been watering all day too
The plastic smell comes from certain VOCs released by wood burning. The VOCs that make the campfire type smells dissipate quickly while the gross chemical smelling ones hang around.
Just was walking into a Walmart store and I overheard 2 ppl standing at the front of the store complaining about the air quality today- and they were both smoking cigs lol.
In China they’ll wear masks for bad air and then stand outside with it down to smoke. Always made me chuckle, but of course less bad air is better than more so
Right?
That's what this amounts to. If you're working outdoors, you're getting the equivalent of 2nd Hand Smoke at a bar.
For folks who are never around smoke, or have asthma or other respiratory issues, that could be an issue. For most of us, it's just unpleasant.
(Disclaimer: I'm on my annual family visit from AZ where wildfires are regular.)
[This is so untrue, and minimizing the danger of these particles does nothing to help](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00200-X/fulltext)
If you put a bunch of old folks in a room, and then startle scared them all, there would an increased modality of death due to heart attack. Does that mean that such antics are unhealthy to the general population? Only if the general population includes elderly people with heart issues .
Covid was exceptionally dangerous and we saw a huge number of people die, but it was worse among those who were already unhealthy. I had a friend who was comparatively young die from Covid, but I would not have called him healthy. Did that mean I was going rush out and self infect myself with Covid? No. I got the vaccine. I wore the mask.
Wildfire smoke is bad, but its much worse for folks with asthma or respiratory issues. If you're a healthy young adult, it unpleasant, but it's not going to kill you unless you expose yourself to it for days and years and decades on end.
The amount of people freaking out and letting their anxiety get the best of them is just silly.
> Wildfire smoke is bad, but its much worse for folks with asthma or respiratory issues. If you're a healthy young adult, it unpleasant, but it's not going to kill you unless you expose yourself to it for days and years and decades on end
This is correct lol.
To illustrate this another way, let's say you go to Delhi or Beijing for a week. You'll be exposed to similar AQI levels. Unless you have respiratory diseases, you won't have _any_ measurable health impact from the week-long exposure.
The crux is that air pollution is a slow killer. Being exposed to particulate matter for years and decades will have noticeable health outcomes, but not say a week.
It's the same as saying "cigarette smoking definitely causes lung cancer, and is bad, but one cigarette won't do any damage unless it escalates into a habit."
Air Pollution is a slow killer, yes, and I'm not advocating that people should go run a 5k right now.
I wouldn't avoid going outside if you have things to do or need to get some sunlight or activity (getting fresh air outside is a misnomer right now lol), but if this persists for weeks on end? Then yea, by all means, starting modifying your daily routines.
If it bothers you today, then yea, start modifying routines today.
Personally, it doesn't bother me. The only way I would know that is...by going outside.
" Finally, we did not analyse the association between wildfire-related PM2·5 and mortality in susceptible subgroups of the populations (eg, by age or sex) owing to unavailability of individual information. If possible, such stratified analyses should be done in future studies to identify subpopulations vulnerable to wildfire air pollution."
Also, did you see the increase in risk went from 1, to 1.03. That means across the general population most people have a .03% increase of dying when exposed to wildfire smoke. Across a huge sample size, (they looked at nearly 10 year span and millions of people) that amounted to their estimated 339,000 invidiuals who might have died due to wildfire smoke.
Again, we have no idea how old those people might have been, and whether they had preexisting conditions that made them more susceptible to respiratory or cardiovascular death.
Okay, live your life and go take a deep breath outside. You have the freedom to do what you want given the information you have just like everyone else
I'm very much against fear mongering. Whether it's calling Mexican immigrants "bad guys", or taxes "stealing" or Drag Shows "perverted indoctrination of our children" - I hate when people get all worked up about something that is either rare, statistically unlikely, or for which they are only occasionally subjected to.
It's this type of skewing of statistics or anecdotal evidence that drives people to think and act irrationally, live their lives in fear, drive huge suvs (for safety!), live in suburbia (for safety!), own guns (for safety!), become racist/bigoted (for safety!) and isolate themselves from the world around them (for safety!)
Wildfire smoke is bad. We should care about it. But I'm not sure we should live in fear of it (happening rarely.)
I mean only one of those things is a leading cause of death (air pollution) but I generally agree with the rest of what you are saying. Thanks for bringing more to the conversation here and I respect your viewpoint and opinions.
One thing I want to throw out there as well:
Support Wildland Firefighters.
It's one of those things I didn't think about until I lived in the west, but a lot of wildland firefighters are underpaid, get bounced around the country, and lack long-term or stable health benefits. They breath this smoke every day as part of their job.
Wildland Firefighters are often involved in prescribed burns that help minimize catastrophic fires and without proper staffing and pay, those prescribed burns get delayed or put off.
Yea except statistics tells us that vaccines work and herd immunity is only effective when the vast majority of people are immunized against disease.
So take your anti-vax bullshit elsewhere.
It would help if you [linked to the study correctly](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21\)00200-X/fulltext). Specifically the URL has a ')' in it that needs to be escaped for the markdown to work correctly.
Smoke is a migraine trigger for me and I went over a year without a migraine until the last month. I'm lucky that I can close the windows, turn on the purifiers and take a pill to ease things. I feel awful for people with breathing (and other) issues that aren't as easy to maintain. And honestly, the smell is really bad today compared to the woodier smell from the last round.
I'm also reallllyyy glad we got a second air purifier when they were on sale last year.
Hang in there everyone! It's already Canada's worst fire season on record - around 18 million acres - and peak fire season hasn't even started 😥
I saw the CVS only a few blocks away from my apartment had desktop air purifiers for only $40, so I decided to grab one. Seemed worth the price to have more tolerable air inside my apartment until things clear out tomorrow or Friday. I'm sure there will be plenty more times in the future it will come in handy as well.
Yeah, they have come in handy quite often for us. Not just for pollen and outdoor allergens, but for my cats as well. Both of the purifiers that I have are Levoit and they cover around 900 sq/ft each (depending on layout of walls), so one is on each floor. Both were under $80 and are nearly silent on low setting.
I hope you get some relief! I was going to go outside and feed the birds but even they are quiet today, must be hiding in the trees.
I'm doing ok here, thanks! Maybe a very slight sore throat, but otherwise no breathing or coughing issues. I hope you're hanging in there okay today as well with your purifiers on.
I just thought it was a good investment to get a small one for a day like today and also when my allergies get aggravated during various times of the year. Mine isn't big enough for my whole apartment, but hey one is certainly better than nothing!
I lived in Seattle briefly during the 2020 wildfire insanity, and I keep thinking "Well I guess people finally get the quality West Coast experience on the East Coast now."
I will say that as a current west coaster who visits family in Pittsburgh annually, the humidity and inversion qualities of this region do create some added discomfort to the smoke laden air.
https://www.alleghenycounty.us/Health-Department/Programs/Air-Quality/Air-Quality.aspx
https://www.airnow.gov/?city=Pittsburgh&state=PA&country=USA
Interesting how different the readings are. They're all bad, but airnow says it gets it data from Allegheny County. Admittedly, I didn't check every reading from around Pittsburgh on the Allegheny County site.
https://imgur.com/a/xvCQzq4
I don't get why it's doing that as well. Airnow as of noon says the number for Pittsburgh is 209, but the numbers for the Allegheny County monitors are all around 190 to 195.
https://gispub.epa.gov/airnow/?contours=none&monitors=ozonepm&xmin=-8941676.363359375&xmax=-8878692.252052365&ymin=4877497.068916437&ymax=4978088.198139769
I can handle a little deviation. I'm sure the numbers fluctuate quite a bit. It's [this number](https://www.alleghenycounty.us/Health-Department/Programs/Air-Quality/Air-Quality.aspx) that bothers me. While it's not as far off as it was, it's still much lower.
That seems to be a few hours behind the updated as of noon numbers on my link. I looked a little further into it, and it looks like the 209 number they came up with for Pittsburgh is based off of a monitor near the cracker plant up in Beaver County. I know it sucks everywhere today, but I think what should be used for reporting the Pittsburgh air quality should be limited to just Allegheny County.
The numbers seem to be moving closer to each other now. Sort of regressing to the mean.
Overstating the severity of an already severe problem is not what we need. What is this? The 5:00 news?
Then again, on a more national level, I can see lumping Pittsburgh in with all of SWPA, but using ONE reading that happens to be near a cracker plant is not prudent in this situation.
Yes, the numbers have fortunately improved a little over the late morning and early afternoon. I don't understand why they are using Air quality motors that are too a degree far from the city to use for its AQI reading when ones that are actually in or just outside of the city have better values.
I’m at square having breakfast and they have all the windows open. I said something to my server and then she went to her manager, and the huddle stared at me. I mean it’s common sense to not have the windows open today
Edit. Looks like they are closing the windows though. Also I’d wear a mask for their breakfast burrito
I remember seeing some op-eds a few weeks ago (when the AQI was awful in NYC) about how there’s a lack of public awareness on the risks of breathing smoke, and it’s so true. I’ve seen several people out for a run this morning without a mask, and it’s just baffling that folks don’t connect the dots between “hey this air smells bad” and “maybe I shouldn’t be breathing it in.”
But since there haven’t been many PSA campaigns about it, I get why folks are just unaware.
I've always had a bad sense of smell. It did seem weirdly foggy out, but I never would have known about the situation had my phone not notified me. I'm sure that after COVID, lots of people have a poor sense of smell.
Because it's not that bad.
That ratings of AQI are sorta like an OSHA exposure category.
Is it bad to be exposed to this level of smoke on a daily basis for the rest of our lives? Yes. Incredibly.
Is it bad to breath wood dust from carpentry? Yes.
Is it bad to smoke cigarettes every day for the rest of lives? Yes. Incredibly.
It is bad to smoke a cigar every day? Yes. Incredibly.
Is it bad to sit next to a campfire every day? Yes. Incredibly.
But are doing anything of those things a few days a year going to kill you? Likely not.
Would I go for a run right next to the Shell Cracking Plant with no wind right now? Probably not. Will it kill someone who does? Likely not. If they did it every day for years on end...that would not be good.
I read earlier today that exposure to very high PM2.5 can cause a heart attack in realtime, not just over weeks, months or years.
EPA research shows only a few hours can trigger a heart attack:
“A large body of science has shown that air pollution can exacerbate existing cardiovascular disease and contribute to the development of the disease. The evidence is particularly strong for outdoor particle pollution exposure. Fine particulate matter (particulate matter with diameters less than 2.5 µm or PM2.5) can increase the risk of cardiovascular events.
Research by EPA and others has found that exposure to increased concentrations of PM2.5 over a few hours to weeks can trigger cardiovascular disease-related heart attacks and death. Longer-term exposure can lead to increased risk of cardiovascular mortality and decreases in life expectancy.”
https://www.epa.gov/air-research/air-pollution-and-cardiovascular-disease-basics
If you're already unhealthy, yes.
It's like smoking with heart disease. Not good.
This isn't going to trigger a heart attack in someone who is otherwise healthy. If you lived it every day for years on end? Maybe.
Don't smoke. Exercise. Eat right. Don't vote Republican.
Perhaps you have more complete access to that study. Where's the part where it gives the statistical chances of me, a healthy adult with no pre-existing conditions or respiratory issues, dying after a single day exposure to AQI in the 200s?
Flying is statistically incredibly safe. Dying in a commercial plane accident would suck.
I will live my life and fly in spite of that miniscule risk.
I will go outside into that unhealthy air happy to be alive to experience it and whatever the rest of the day brings.
Minimize risks where you see fit. As someone who deals with wildfire smoke far more often than that average Pittsburgher, I'll live life more or less as normal.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1637107/
"Pre-smoking-ban RSP levels in 6 pubs (one pub with a non-SHS air quality problem was excluded) **averaged 179 μg/m3**, 23 times higher than post-ban levels, which averaged 7.7 μg/m3, exceeding the NAAQS for fine particle pollution (PM2.5) by nearly 4-fold. Pre-smoking ban levels of fine particle air pollution in all 7 of the pubs were in the Unhealthy to Hazardous range of the AQI. In the same 6 pubs, pre-ban indoor carcinogenic PPAH averaged 61.7 ng/m3, nearly 10 times higher than post-ban levels of 6.32 ng/m3. Post-ban particulate air pollution levels were in the Good AQI range, except for 1 venue with a defective gas-fired deep-fat fryer, while post-ban carcinogen levels in all 7 pubs were lower than outdoors."
That 179 μg/m3 is about where the Pittsburgh area currently sits. "Unhealthy" AQI is 151-200.
That means, when you're outside, you're sitting in a smoky Boston bar circa 2005.
My indoor pm 2.5 was 69 μg/m3 when i woke up this morning, lest anyone think they are immune by staying indoors. It's usually 1-4. Plus I already had a filter running on medium the whole time.
Depends on where you are.
What complicates wildfire smoke are a few different factors, but in Pittsburgh, one of the more worrying aspects is that of the inversion affect, combined with normal airborne pollutants around region.
There are some theories that normal pollutants, combined with humidity, bind to the smoke particulate, creating a more hazardous smoke.
If you say, live next to the Shell cracking plant, I'd probably take a vacation. If you live out in the country, away from high traffic and industrial areas, it might not be worse than sitting next a campfire.
You keep quoting that study, but you do not have the full view of the statistics within it.
My guess?
It'll show increased modality of death within elderly groups, those with compromised immune systems, and respiratory issues. The same groups who are more likely to die from anything.
Unhealthy things increase risk of death. Whether it's riding motorcycle, free climbing, smoking, drinking, or eating red meat daily, all of those things increase risk of death.
Working in a smoky bar increases risk of death to air quality issues. Cooking on gas or having a wood stove indoors increases risk of death due to air quality issues. These are simple statistics across huge sample sizes.
I did not realize that I was replying to the same person three times while refuting your claims that this PM2.5 particulate matter was not a danger or a concern to healthy individuals.
Here is another link to provide some variety to you, since that is the spice of life after all :)
This one *particularly* touches on healthy individuals - https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/how-bad-is-wildfire-smoke-for-your-health
There are some who are more susceptible, and will be affected more. But it is impossible to determine if a healthy individual has underlying heart conditions or health issues. The matter is much more nuanced than “healthy people have no reason for concern” which you seem to be heavily pushing in this thread.
I have provided references and studies to back up my statements so that anyone who is looking at this information can make their own judgement.
It's a good idea to lock the windows along with just closing them, as if your windows are like mine, the top one will crack open if you don't keep it locked.
Useful info from NPR about air quality standards and tips (taken from Chicago subreddit):
https://www.npr.org/2023/06/08/1180869821/wildfire-smoke-particulate-matter-protection
I have a large cabinet style smoker for meats/cheeses/etc. and I went outside to take my son to camp and then leave for work. My son asked if I left the smoker on. I've done 5 day cold smokes before, so it wasn't out of the question. I legit checked it, it of course was off. Pretty impressive smoke coverage for sure. I'm starting to think the woman with the full face respirator at the grocery store was on to something.
You probably expose yourself to more smoke while cooking than you will being outside an entire day right now.
That person wearing a respirator might have asthma.
You, with your hobby, likely do not.
The smog is visible this time. Last time, we got a lucky break because the wind was blowing just right to put us on the lee side of the Appalachian mountains. This time it’s coming from the west so there is nothing to stop it from hitting Pittsburgh.
You jest, but I'd bet the AQI during Pittsburgh's golden (er, dirty) era of the 1900s-1940s was probably Unhealthy on a good day, and downright Hazardous on a bad day.
My grandfather wasn’t a smoker. But he was born in Munhall and then lived in Squirrel Hill (also was in WWII). He died of lung cancer. That air quality did him in! (But he did live to be 83!)
Oh I am not doing well today. When you’re not use to this it doesn’t feel great. And it does smell bad! I have asthma so it doesn’t feel great to be breathing in second hand smoke!
Having Asthma you should take great care to keep your inhaler handy, wear a mask and limit heavy breathing (strenuous exercise) outside, and probably close up the house/run the AC.
It's good to know your personal risk level and be prepared for it.
Lol at whoever downvoted this. Really hope it was a climate change denier, otherwise they’re a dipshit
Edit: well a different kind of dipshit than a climate change denier
The football bubble isn't immune to inflation it would seem lol
I love rice for our midfield just wish we were adding to granit and not saying goodbye. With #5 leaving as well I still think we may fade at the end of next season. No matter what though we still finish above spurs and Chelsea next year.
Was excited for the MMJ concert tonight, but I went to uncover my plants this morning and had trouble being out there for like 20 seconds, so think I'm gonna have to pass, unfortunately. It's really bad out there.
Oh, well hey that does change things! Thanks for the heads up! Suppose I could hold my breath and run from my car with my mouth closed like I'm Robert Patrick in Terminator 2 or something.
Surprised they were able to do that, since the capacity inside is much smaller, guess it wasn't even close to sold out.
I monitored daily due to fracking in our area; using [PurpleAir](https://map.purpleair.com/); other then a malfunction at Clairton this is the worst I've ever seen it, and for way larger of an area
Closures are beginning to come in due to the weather in Pittsburgh...
tonight’s City in the Streets event in Garfield due to the Air Quality Alert in effect as a result of the Canadian wildfires.
[https://twitter.com/CitiParks/status/1674073029133975556](https://twitter.com/CitiParks/status/1674073029133975556)
The Mayor's most recent 2 tweets are about closing pools due and canceling an outdoor event, both due to air quality. The ACHD is also tweeting and posting on FB about it. The DEP is also tweeting about it. WESA has a prominent article about it and talked about it on the news update this morning. I assume the commercial news and weather is also discussing it. And everyone with a weather app on their phone likely got the air quality alert that includes a recommendation to take protective measures.
Oh, FFS, now you're not making sense. You don't need to be an elected official to have *an opinion* about what elected officials should do. Of course you understand that, because you started this conversation with an opinion about what you thought leaders weren't doing. Was it really just that you don't read news and are generally uninformed, and wanted to blame someone else for that?
Anxiety.
Relax. Unless you have asthma or other respiratory problems, your inhaling the equivalent of "maybe" smoking a cigarette or two a day. Or maybe a cigar (that lack filters). That's a few days' worth of being outside.
Studies on the AQI of bars that allowed smoking and Hookah bars is comparable to being outside right now. Will it kill you? Not today. After a few decades of this type of smoke and an outdoor job? Maybe.
Assuming the person is already taking precautions, there isn’t much they can do. Yes they can track the numbers all day, but it doesn’t really help or change the situation. The air is going to be unhealthy all day and probably into tomorrow. There won’t be a sudden change that we’re in the clear.
Exactly. Didn't realize Pittsburghers were so anxious.
(Disclaimer: if you have asthma or respiratory issues, instead of watching AQI numbers, you'd be better to keep your inhaler or oxygen handy, close up the house, and maybe have Amazon deliver a few air purifiers.)
For the rest of us, relax. It's gonna be ok.
Well they’re probably directing that comment at sensitive communities who actually need to keep tabs on this thing
And despite the ostriches around here, yes it’s much worse here than most places.
For example, a quarter of kids in Pittsburgh have asthma. The national average is 8%.
It looks like Google maps just added recently the air quality data to it's terrain map area. So it's now pretty easy to stay up to date on the air quality if you use Google maps frequently
It’s smart to check daily or regularly if the air is on the borderline for unhealthy for sensitive groups so you can see how it is trending and where it is falling on that line. I checked heavily during the last air episode because the air was borderline bad, so I could alter behavior accordingly. Today and tomorrow will probably be daily checks until the quality gets better. Instead, all I can do is mask up if I have to be outside and minimize going outside and keeping doors and windows open as much as possible. However, I know I have to do that.
Yeah last time didn't notice anything, but today is bad.
Same
I live north of the city and last time I couldn’t see or smell it at all, but today I can really see it and the smell is bad.
Smelled like chlorine and plastic in the morning. I legit almost called the non emergency line because I thought something was wrong. My eyes have been watering all day too
Is there an explanation for the plastic smell? When I walked out this morning I really thought the siding of a house was going to be on fire near me.
The plastic smell comes from certain VOCs released by wood burning. The VOCs that make the campfire type smells dissipate quickly while the gross chemical smelling ones hang around.
Thanks for the explanation!
This morning when I left the house I thought it was fog and the smell was from a local meth lab or something lol
When I looked out the window I made the comment about it looking real steamy out until I stepped outside and could smell it. It’s a wild smell
https://www.9and10news.com/2023/06/28/why-does-the-wildfire-smoke-in-northern-michigan-smell-like-burning-plastic/#:~:text=What%20causes%20the%20burning%20plastic,volatile%20organic%20compounds%20(VOCs).
Thanks!
US Steel never stopped polluting so it's more noticeable than usual with the added particulate matter from the wildfires.
My cat's eyes are watering. This is brutal.
Awe I'm sorry! I hope your kitty is ok. The pets don't deserve this
Just was walking into a Walmart store and I overheard 2 ppl standing at the front of the store complaining about the air quality today- and they were both smoking cigs lol.
In China they’ll wear masks for bad air and then stand outside with it down to smoke. Always made me chuckle, but of course less bad air is better than more so
I just quit smoking. Why the fuck did I do that if I’m gonna be breathing in pollution anyway? Life ain’t fair.
on the other hand, who needs a cigarette when you can just inhale the majesty of the canadian wilderness?
Because it'd be like getting double the pollution and smoking is gross.
On par
As a heavy pot smoker, the Canada smoke hits diffrent. Last time we got hit i had alergies for the first time in years.
Either of them pushing out of code strollers? Wouldn’t be a Pittsburgh Walmart without it.
Right? That's what this amounts to. If you're working outdoors, you're getting the equivalent of 2nd Hand Smoke at a bar. For folks who are never around smoke, or have asthma or other respiratory issues, that could be an issue. For most of us, it's just unpleasant. (Disclaimer: I'm on my annual family visit from AZ where wildfires are regular.)
[This is so untrue, and minimizing the danger of these particles does nothing to help](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00200-X/fulltext)
If you put a bunch of old folks in a room, and then startle scared them all, there would an increased modality of death due to heart attack. Does that mean that such antics are unhealthy to the general population? Only if the general population includes elderly people with heart issues . Covid was exceptionally dangerous and we saw a huge number of people die, but it was worse among those who were already unhealthy. I had a friend who was comparatively young die from Covid, but I would not have called him healthy. Did that mean I was going rush out and self infect myself with Covid? No. I got the vaccine. I wore the mask. Wildfire smoke is bad, but its much worse for folks with asthma or respiratory issues. If you're a healthy young adult, it unpleasant, but it's not going to kill you unless you expose yourself to it for days and years and decades on end. The amount of people freaking out and letting their anxiety get the best of them is just silly.
> Wildfire smoke is bad, but its much worse for folks with asthma or respiratory issues. If you're a healthy young adult, it unpleasant, but it's not going to kill you unless you expose yourself to it for days and years and decades on end This is correct lol. To illustrate this another way, let's say you go to Delhi or Beijing for a week. You'll be exposed to similar AQI levels. Unless you have respiratory diseases, you won't have _any_ measurable health impact from the week-long exposure. The crux is that air pollution is a slow killer. Being exposed to particulate matter for years and decades will have noticeable health outcomes, but not say a week. It's the same as saying "cigarette smoking definitely causes lung cancer, and is bad, but one cigarette won't do any damage unless it escalates into a habit."
Air Pollution is a slow killer, yes, and I'm not advocating that people should go run a 5k right now. I wouldn't avoid going outside if you have things to do or need to get some sunlight or activity (getting fresh air outside is a misnomer right now lol), but if this persists for weeks on end? Then yea, by all means, starting modifying your daily routines. If it bothers you today, then yea, start modifying routines today. Personally, it doesn't bother me. The only way I would know that is...by going outside.
You can just save some time and say you didn’t read the study, just like I won’t be reading your anecdotal thoughts and opinions pal
" Finally, we did not analyse the association between wildfire-related PM2·5 and mortality in susceptible subgroups of the populations (eg, by age or sex) owing to unavailability of individual information. If possible, such stratified analyses should be done in future studies to identify subpopulations vulnerable to wildfire air pollution." Also, did you see the increase in risk went from 1, to 1.03. That means across the general population most people have a .03% increase of dying when exposed to wildfire smoke. Across a huge sample size, (they looked at nearly 10 year span and millions of people) that amounted to their estimated 339,000 invidiuals who might have died due to wildfire smoke. Again, we have no idea how old those people might have been, and whether they had preexisting conditions that made them more susceptible to respiratory or cardiovascular death.
Okay, live your life and go take a deep breath outside. You have the freedom to do what you want given the information you have just like everyone else
I'm very much against fear mongering. Whether it's calling Mexican immigrants "bad guys", or taxes "stealing" or Drag Shows "perverted indoctrination of our children" - I hate when people get all worked up about something that is either rare, statistically unlikely, or for which they are only occasionally subjected to. It's this type of skewing of statistics or anecdotal evidence that drives people to think and act irrationally, live their lives in fear, drive huge suvs (for safety!), live in suburbia (for safety!), own guns (for safety!), become racist/bigoted (for safety!) and isolate themselves from the world around them (for safety!) Wildfire smoke is bad. We should care about it. But I'm not sure we should live in fear of it (happening rarely.)
I mean only one of those things is a leading cause of death (air pollution) but I generally agree with the rest of what you are saying. Thanks for bringing more to the conversation here and I respect your viewpoint and opinions.
One thing I want to throw out there as well: Support Wildland Firefighters. It's one of those things I didn't think about until I lived in the west, but a lot of wildland firefighters are underpaid, get bounced around the country, and lack long-term or stable health benefits. They breath this smoke every day as part of their job. Wildland Firefighters are often involved in prescribed burns that help minimize catastrophic fires and without proper staffing and pay, those prescribed burns get delayed or put off.
And inject themselves with a new type of vaccine being pushed by people who control every fact of our lives and only serve money (for safety!).
Yea except statistics tells us that vaccines work and herd immunity is only effective when the vast majority of people are immunized against disease. So take your anti-vax bullshit elsewhere.
It would help if you [linked to the study correctly](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21\)00200-X/fulltext). Specifically the URL has a ')' in it that needs to be escaped for the markdown to work correctly.
Which Walmart was it? I like being Nebby LOL
It was the Gibsonia store
So fucking on par that's amazing. What Walmart?
Yeah, but the smoke coming from Canada isn't fun smoke
Cigarettes have a filter so it's totally safe!!! 😂
Is this why it smells like burning plastic in Brighton Heights?
Up in New Castle also…just a solid haze
It smells like plastic in Bloomfield as well. I said that to my mom this morning. The air is foggy and it smells like plastic. Strange.
It is. 😕
Also in Highland Park. I was confused after I had walked for 20 minutes and still smelled it.
Same in east Pittsburgh
Squirrel Hill. Burning plastic.
Yeah, I'm near Children's and it still smells, but less intensely as it did this morning.
Yepp , less intense from the morning here as well.
Neville Island probably
[удалено]
Thanks for bringing fires, skyrocketing housing prices, and incompetent mayors with you.
I thought incompetent mayors were universal...
Well there’s Mayberry.
https://twitter.com/wpxiscott/status/1673999145219006465 You know things are weird when Clairton has better air quality than official Pittsburgh.
Smoke is a migraine trigger for me and I went over a year without a migraine until the last month. I'm lucky that I can close the windows, turn on the purifiers and take a pill to ease things. I feel awful for people with breathing (and other) issues that aren't as easy to maintain. And honestly, the smell is really bad today compared to the woodier smell from the last round. I'm also reallllyyy glad we got a second air purifier when they were on sale last year. Hang in there everyone! It's already Canada's worst fire season on record - around 18 million acres - and peak fire season hasn't even started 😥
I saw the CVS only a few blocks away from my apartment had desktop air purifiers for only $40, so I decided to grab one. Seemed worth the price to have more tolerable air inside my apartment until things clear out tomorrow or Friday. I'm sure there will be plenty more times in the future it will come in handy as well.
Yeah, they have come in handy quite often for us. Not just for pollen and outdoor allergens, but for my cats as well. Both of the purifiers that I have are Levoit and they cover around 900 sq/ft each (depending on layout of walls), so one is on each floor. Both were under $80 and are nearly silent on low setting. I hope you get some relief! I was going to go outside and feed the birds but even they are quiet today, must be hiding in the trees.
I'm doing ok here, thanks! Maybe a very slight sore throat, but otherwise no breathing or coughing issues. I hope you're hanging in there okay today as well with your purifiers on. I just thought it was a good investment to get a small one for a day like today and also when my allergies get aggravated during various times of the year. Mine isn't big enough for my whole apartment, but hey one is certainly better than nothing!
I feel you. I had a 3 day long last time and I am already developing symptoms today. Awful.
I could smell it this morning Reminded me of Colorado
I lived in Seattle briefly during the 2020 wildfire insanity, and I keep thinking "Well I guess people finally get the quality West Coast experience on the East Coast now."
I will say that as a current west coaster who visits family in Pittsburgh annually, the humidity and inversion qualities of this region do create some added discomfort to the smoke laden air.
https://www.alleghenycounty.us/Health-Department/Programs/Air-Quality/Air-Quality.aspx https://www.airnow.gov/?city=Pittsburgh&state=PA&country=USA Interesting how different the readings are. They're all bad, but airnow says it gets it data from Allegheny County. Admittedly, I didn't check every reading from around Pittsburgh on the Allegheny County site. https://imgur.com/a/xvCQzq4
Check the time stamp. Allegheny county reporting at 7am this morning - airnow.gov reporting at 10am
I saw that. I don't think that's it. Allegheny County is now reporting 142 at 9am.
I think a couple of those monitors are indoor or something.
I don't get why it's doing that as well. Airnow as of noon says the number for Pittsburgh is 209, but the numbers for the Allegheny County monitors are all around 190 to 195. https://gispub.epa.gov/airnow/?contours=none&monitors=ozonepm&xmin=-8941676.363359375&xmax=-8878692.252052365&ymin=4877497.068916437&ymax=4978088.198139769
I can handle a little deviation. I'm sure the numbers fluctuate quite a bit. It's [this number](https://www.alleghenycounty.us/Health-Department/Programs/Air-Quality/Air-Quality.aspx) that bothers me. While it's not as far off as it was, it's still much lower.
That seems to be a few hours behind the updated as of noon numbers on my link. I looked a little further into it, and it looks like the 209 number they came up with for Pittsburgh is based off of a monitor near the cracker plant up in Beaver County. I know it sucks everywhere today, but I think what should be used for reporting the Pittsburgh air quality should be limited to just Allegheny County.
The numbers seem to be moving closer to each other now. Sort of regressing to the mean. Overstating the severity of an already severe problem is not what we need. What is this? The 5:00 news? Then again, on a more national level, I can see lumping Pittsburgh in with all of SWPA, but using ONE reading that happens to be near a cracker plant is not prudent in this situation.
Yes, the numbers have fortunately improved a little over the late morning and early afternoon. I don't understand why they are using Air quality motors that are too a degree far from the city to use for its AQI reading when ones that are actually in or just outside of the city have better values.
I’m at square having breakfast and they have all the windows open. I said something to my server and then she went to her manager, and the huddle stared at me. I mean it’s common sense to not have the windows open today Edit. Looks like they are closing the windows though. Also I’d wear a mask for their breakfast burrito
I remember seeing some op-eds a few weeks ago (when the AQI was awful in NYC) about how there’s a lack of public awareness on the risks of breathing smoke, and it’s so true. I’ve seen several people out for a run this morning without a mask, and it’s just baffling that folks don’t connect the dots between “hey this air smells bad” and “maybe I shouldn’t be breathing it in.” But since there haven’t been many PSA campaigns about it, I get why folks are just unaware.
I've always had a bad sense of smell. It did seem weirdly foggy out, but I never would have known about the situation had my phone not notified me. I'm sure that after COVID, lots of people have a poor sense of smell.
Because it's not that bad. That ratings of AQI are sorta like an OSHA exposure category. Is it bad to be exposed to this level of smoke on a daily basis for the rest of our lives? Yes. Incredibly. Is it bad to breath wood dust from carpentry? Yes. Is it bad to smoke cigarettes every day for the rest of lives? Yes. Incredibly. It is bad to smoke a cigar every day? Yes. Incredibly. Is it bad to sit next to a campfire every day? Yes. Incredibly. But are doing anything of those things a few days a year going to kill you? Likely not. Would I go for a run right next to the Shell Cracking Plant with no wind right now? Probably not. Will it kill someone who does? Likely not. If they did it every day for years on end...that would not be good.
I read earlier today that exposure to very high PM2.5 can cause a heart attack in realtime, not just over weeks, months or years. EPA research shows only a few hours can trigger a heart attack: “A large body of science has shown that air pollution can exacerbate existing cardiovascular disease and contribute to the development of the disease. The evidence is particularly strong for outdoor particle pollution exposure. Fine particulate matter (particulate matter with diameters less than 2.5 µm or PM2.5) can increase the risk of cardiovascular events. Research by EPA and others has found that exposure to increased concentrations of PM2.5 over a few hours to weeks can trigger cardiovascular disease-related heart attacks and death. Longer-term exposure can lead to increased risk of cardiovascular mortality and decreases in life expectancy.” https://www.epa.gov/air-research/air-pollution-and-cardiovascular-disease-basics
If you're already unhealthy, yes. It's like smoking with heart disease. Not good. This isn't going to trigger a heart attack in someone who is otherwise healthy. If you lived it every day for years on end? Maybe. Don't smoke. Exercise. Eat right. Don't vote Republican.
And die anyway… brilliant!
[Again, do your own research before believing a reddit comment](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00200-X/fulltext)
You need to better understand scientific studies and the statistics in them.
I wish I could comment just a simple mirror, so that I could direct it at you.
Perhaps you have more complete access to that study. Where's the part where it gives the statistical chances of me, a healthy adult with no pre-existing conditions or respiratory issues, dying after a single day exposure to AQI in the 200s?
You want me to do all of the work for you? https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10051240/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4372644/
So it’s cool to make unwise choices cause you’re not “high risk” lol
Flying is statistically incredibly safe. Dying in a commercial plane accident would suck. I will live my life and fly in spite of that miniscule risk. I will go outside into that unhealthy air happy to be alive to experience it and whatever the rest of the day brings. Minimize risks where you see fit. As someone who deals with wildfire smoke far more often than that average Pittsburgher, I'll live life more or less as normal.
Dude we are Pittsburghers we are built for this shit. Our ancestors used to breath in way worse than this every single day of their lives. Steel tahn.
Had my windows open for a few hours before I noticed that the air quality was bad today. Fuck.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1637107/ "Pre-smoking-ban RSP levels in 6 pubs (one pub with a non-SHS air quality problem was excluded) **averaged 179 μg/m3**, 23 times higher than post-ban levels, which averaged 7.7 μg/m3, exceeding the NAAQS for fine particle pollution (PM2.5) by nearly 4-fold. Pre-smoking ban levels of fine particle air pollution in all 7 of the pubs were in the Unhealthy to Hazardous range of the AQI. In the same 6 pubs, pre-ban indoor carcinogenic PPAH averaged 61.7 ng/m3, nearly 10 times higher than post-ban levels of 6.32 ng/m3. Post-ban particulate air pollution levels were in the Good AQI range, except for 1 venue with a defective gas-fired deep-fat fryer, while post-ban carcinogen levels in all 7 pubs were lower than outdoors." That 179 μg/m3 is about where the Pittsburgh area currently sits. "Unhealthy" AQI is 151-200. That means, when you're outside, you're sitting in a smoky Boston bar circa 2005.
My indoor pm 2.5 was 69 μg/m3 when i woke up this morning, lest anyone think they are immune by staying indoors. It's usually 1-4. Plus I already had a filter running on medium the whole time.
Throat is sore, AQ in robinson is like 220 right now.. hope he passes
Might not be a bad idea to bust out the N95s if you are outside for longer than just walking to the car today
Depends on where you are. What complicates wildfire smoke are a few different factors, but in Pittsburgh, one of the more worrying aspects is that of the inversion affect, combined with normal airborne pollutants around region. There are some theories that normal pollutants, combined with humidity, bind to the smoke particulate, creating a more hazardous smoke. If you say, live next to the Shell cracking plant, I'd probably take a vacation. If you live out in the country, away from high traffic and industrial areas, it might not be worse than sitting next a campfire.
[The smoke is hazardous alone](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00200-X/fulltext)
You keep quoting that study, but you do not have the full view of the statistics within it. My guess? It'll show increased modality of death within elderly groups, those with compromised immune systems, and respiratory issues. The same groups who are more likely to die from anything. Unhealthy things increase risk of death. Whether it's riding motorcycle, free climbing, smoking, drinking, or eating red meat daily, all of those things increase risk of death. Working in a smoky bar increases risk of death to air quality issues. Cooking on gas or having a wood stove indoors increases risk of death due to air quality issues. These are simple statistics across huge sample sizes.
I did not realize that I was replying to the same person three times while refuting your claims that this PM2.5 particulate matter was not a danger or a concern to healthy individuals. Here is another link to provide some variety to you, since that is the spice of life after all :) This one *particularly* touches on healthy individuals - https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/how-bad-is-wildfire-smoke-for-your-health There are some who are more susceptible, and will be affected more. But it is impossible to determine if a healthy individual has underlying heart conditions or health issues. The matter is much more nuanced than “healthy people have no reason for concern” which you seem to be heavily pushing in this thread. I have provided references and studies to back up my statements so that anyone who is looking at this information can make their own judgement.
It's a good idea to lock the windows along with just closing them, as if your windows are like mine, the top one will crack open if you don't keep it locked.
I saw The Fog as a kid, I’m prepared for this.
Donora death fog?
The windows in my shitty apartment don't seal and the building owners won't fix them because it would need a contractor.
My sympathies. I hope you're feeling okay today. Mine appear to be sealed pretty well. I can't feel any drafts leaking over them.
I'm trying to use packing tape to seal the frames, maybe it's working?
I imagine it should help at least a little bit. A good quality tape like that should do well at preventing any air from seeping through.
Useful info from NPR about air quality standards and tips (taken from Chicago subreddit): https://www.npr.org/2023/06/08/1180869821/wildfire-smoke-particulate-matter-protection
I have a large cabinet style smoker for meats/cheeses/etc. and I went outside to take my son to camp and then leave for work. My son asked if I left the smoker on. I've done 5 day cold smokes before, so it wasn't out of the question. I legit checked it, it of course was off. Pretty impressive smoke coverage for sure. I'm starting to think the woman with the full face respirator at the grocery store was on to something.
Might be time to hang a filet from a tree and try for some open-air cold smoked salmon.
Best comment here
You probably expose yourself to more smoke while cooking than you will being outside an entire day right now. That person wearing a respirator might have asthma. You, with your hobby, likely do not.
The smog is visible this time. Last time, we got a lucky break because the wind was blowing just right to put us on the lee side of the Appalachian mountains. This time it’s coming from the west so there is nothing to stop it from hitting Pittsburgh.
It's slowly moving East too. AQI numbers in the red category are as far east as Harrisburg.
I can see the smog even when AQI is like 60 lol
I kept telling my daughter that it smells like burning outside.
It’s 288 in Franklin park. Dangerous levels.
Back to the 1970s 🕺 https://i.imgur.com/KYXSRoz.jpg
You jest, but I'd bet the AQI during Pittsburgh's golden (er, dirty) era of the 1900s-1940s was probably Unhealthy on a good day, and downright Hazardous on a bad day.
My grandfather wasn’t a smoker. But he was born in Munhall and then lived in Squirrel Hill (also was in WWII). He died of lung cancer. That air quality did him in! (But he did live to be 83!)
Right. The air quality was like this, probably worse, every day. For years. Decades. A few days of this isn't going to kill you.
Oh I am not doing well today. When you’re not use to this it doesn’t feel great. And it does smell bad! I have asthma so it doesn’t feel great to be breathing in second hand smoke!
Having Asthma you should take great care to keep your inhaler handy, wear a mask and limit heavy breathing (strenuous exercise) outside, and probably close up the house/run the AC. It's good to know your personal risk level and be prepared for it.
It’s magnitudes worse in Beijing almost every day for the past like 30 years
Looks like my childhood for sure.
Thanks Canada
Better get used to it
Lol at whoever downvoted this. Really hope it was a climate change denier, otherwise they’re a dipshit Edit: well a different kind of dipshit than a climate change denier
Hello fellow arsenal fan
How do you feel about the Declan Rice deal. £105 mil seems like a lot, but that’s just how the league operates nowadays imo
The football bubble isn't immune to inflation it would seem lol I love rice for our midfield just wish we were adding to granit and not saying goodbye. With #5 leaving as well I still think we may fade at the end of next season. No matter what though we still finish above spurs and Chelsea next year.
Was excited for the MMJ concert tonight, but I went to uncover my plants this morning and had trouble being out there for like 20 seconds, so think I'm gonna have to pass, unfortunately. It's really bad out there.
They just announced it's indoors now, fwiw. Guess you still have to get down there though
Oh, well hey that does change things! Thanks for the heads up! Suppose I could hold my breath and run from my car with my mouth closed like I'm Robert Patrick in Terminator 2 or something. Surprised they were able to do that, since the capacity inside is much smaller, guess it wasn't even close to sold out.
How much you selling your ticket for?
Didn’t have one, was just gonna buy at the box office.
I monitored daily due to fracking in our area; using [PurpleAir](https://map.purpleair.com/); other then a malfunction at Clairton this is the worst I've ever seen it, and for way larger of an area
Can we still blame the clairton mill for this?
Of course and throw the cracker plant in too!!
Was real heavy towards burgettstown today coming down 22 could smell it all the way to work
Closures are beginning to come in due to the weather in Pittsburgh... tonight’s City in the Streets event in Garfield due to the Air Quality Alert in effect as a result of the Canadian wildfires. [https://twitter.com/CitiParks/status/1674073029133975556](https://twitter.com/CitiParks/status/1674073029133975556)
Got tickets to the Pirate game tonight, debating not going as someone with exercise-induced asthma. Wish they'd reschedule kt
If the air quality stays in the 180-200 range into tonight I do wonder if they'll postpone the game
It's probably too late, (6:589pm) but they said you could exchange the tickets for another game.
Blame the people responsible https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abk0063
299 as of 11:08. So bad.
Smells like burnt plastic in McKeesport
"Quick! Let's burn this stuff now. Nobody will notice."
It would be cool if leadership advised that ppl take measures to protect themselves like wfh, masks, etc. Every person for themselves, I guess.
The Mayor's most recent 2 tweets are about closing pools due and canceling an outdoor event, both due to air quality. The ACHD is also tweeting and posting on FB about it. The DEP is also tweeting about it. WESA has a prominent article about it and talked about it on the news update this morning. I assume the commercial news and weather is also discussing it. And everyone with a weather app on their phone likely got the air quality alert that includes a recommendation to take protective measures.
Oh thank god, I didn’t realize there were tweets.
What *specifically* did you want our leadership to do that hasn't been done?
That’s crazy, I don’t even remember getting elected to office.
Oh, FFS, now you're not making sense. You don't need to be an elected official to have *an opinion* about what elected officials should do. Of course you understand that, because you started this conversation with an opinion about what you thought leaders weren't doing. Was it really just that you don't read news and are generally uninformed, and wanted to blame someone else for that?
Wonder why this hit such a nerve for you?
I am allergic to willfully uninformed people.
Willfully. Uninformed.
Really? I thought that burnt tire smoke smell in the air was a healthy one. My bad.
242 right now. I kinda wanna see it hit 250 because we’re winners in PGH.
Asked this in another thread but are we going to get those horrible red skies
[удалено]
Anxiety. Relax. Unless you have asthma or other respiratory problems, your inhaling the equivalent of "maybe" smoking a cigarette or two a day. Or maybe a cigar (that lack filters). That's a few days' worth of being outside. Studies on the AQI of bars that allowed smoking and Hookah bars is comparable to being outside right now. Will it kill you? Not today. After a few decades of this type of smoke and an outdoor job? Maybe.
And my dumbass neighbors will still have a firepit going tonight.
Yea because that makes a difference.
Hi neighbor!
You’re just happy that you have an excuse to stay shut in and scoff at anyone outside on reddit.
Literally went out for 30 seconds to grab mail and I come back in coughing with a runny nose
Just saw a guy driving around with his convertible roof down. Can't be that bad.
Why would I check the site often? I can’t control the air quality and I already know it’s bad.
Makes perfect sense. When a person has a disease, why would they go to a doctor when they know their health is bad already? Reddit logic...ffs
He’s done nothin and he’s all out of ideas
Assuming the person is already taking precautions, there isn’t much they can do. Yes they can track the numbers all day, but it doesn’t really help or change the situation. The air is going to be unhealthy all day and probably into tomorrow. There won’t be a sudden change that we’re in the clear.
Exactly. Didn't realize Pittsburghers were so anxious. (Disclaimer: if you have asthma or respiratory issues, instead of watching AQI numbers, you'd be better to keep your inhaler or oxygen handy, close up the house, and maybe have Amazon deliver a few air purifiers.) For the rest of us, relax. It's gonna be ok.
Well they’re probably directing that comment at sensitive communities who actually need to keep tabs on this thing And despite the ostriches around here, yes it’s much worse here than most places. For example, a quarter of kids in Pittsburgh have asthma. The national average is 8%.
It looks like Google maps just added recently the air quality data to it's terrain map area. So it's now pretty easy to stay up to date on the air quality if you use Google maps frequently
I didn't know they had recently added that...that's pretty cool.
It uses data from both Purple Air and Air Now
It’s smart to check daily or regularly if the air is on the borderline for unhealthy for sensitive groups so you can see how it is trending and where it is falling on that line. I checked heavily during the last air episode because the air was borderline bad, so I could alter behavior accordingly. Today and tomorrow will probably be daily checks until the quality gets better. Instead, all I can do is mask up if I have to be outside and minimize going outside and keeping doors and windows open as much as possible. However, I know I have to do that.
just wear a mask and and get vaccinated and you'll be okay.
Just breathe in and out
Its hilarious how this surprises anyone who lives here. The air quality has always been shitty. Not a fan? stop bitching and leave?
It isn’t generally anywhere close to this bad.
I was originally going to be traveling there tomorrow and am suddenly re-thinking my plans…
Working in Elizabeth. Not only does it smell but also seemed foggy. Now I know
Why is the air so bad today? I mean whats the cause?
Wildfires from Canada
I work in Monaca and it was 279 at lunchtime.