Smoky skies prompt smog alert recollections, plans for purification

September 3, 8:12 PMLA Health and Beauty ExaminerSarah Torribio

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Smoke from the Station Fire looms over L.A.                AP photo/Jon Vidar

When I was a child growing up in the San Gabriel Valley —Covina, to be more exact—the air quality was terrible.

I attended Grovecenter Elementary School in Covina from first through sixth grades, from 1980 to 1986, and each year we would have many smog alerts.

During these times, we would refrain from physical education and remain indoors during recess, playing indoor games like “mum ball.” (What a brilliant idea! Some teacher with a migraine must have designed this game, where players are “out” not only if they drop the ball they are tossing around but also if they make a noise.)

These cooped-up days were intended to protect us from the harmful effects of breathing in smog, which include aching lungs, wheezing, coughing and headaches, according to the website of the South Coast Air Quality Management District. We were corralled because kids are particularly sensitive to poor air quality.

The AQMD site does a good job of explaining why children seem to be more vulnerable to the effects of smog:

“Because of their physiology, children are much more likely than adults to develop smog-related lung damage. For their body size, children inhale several times more air than adults, and they breathe faster, particularly during strenuous physical activity. In addition, they spend more time outdoors than any other segment of the population. . .”

Smog 101

Think smog is as bad as it ever has been, in these dire days marked by news of holes in the ozone layer, melting icebergs and species on the brink of extinction? Think again. In 1980 there were 102 smog alerts, which amounts to a third of the year. Ouch.

The first time smog was recognized as a phenomenon in Los Angles, by the way, was in 1943, according to a book titled  “Energy Futures and Urban Air Pollution: Challenges for China and the United States,” excerpts of which are available online for free perusal. That summer, with visibility constrained to three blocks, Los Angelenos began complaining of symptoms such as burning eyes, nausea and vomiting and general “respiratory discomfort,” according to “Energy Futures.”

Many wondered if the toxic haze was the result of a chemical attack by the Japanese, not surprising given that this prototypical smog alert, referred to as a “gas attack” at the time, came smack in the middle of World War II.

For a colorful description of this scary atmospheric wakeup call, check out an online excerpt of another informative book, “Smogtown: The Lung-Burning History of Pollution in Los Angeles,” written by journalist Chip Jacobs and environmental spokesperson William J. Kelly.

With the gradual tightening of emission standards for automobiles and gasoline, the amount of smog alerts have declined since the 1960s and 1970s, which represented a heyday for L.A. smog.

Again, sometimes it's hard to think of Los Angeles still-polluted air in anything but negative terms. The American Lung Association rated Los Angeles as the second most polluted city in 2008 in terms of short-term and year-round particle pollution (Pittsburgh topped the list).

The AQMD confirms this: “Millions of residents of the South Coast Basin (which includes Los Angeles, Orange, and parts of San Bernardino and Riverside counties) breathe dirty air some one-third the days of the year. Ozone levels here, or what most refer to as smog, are often twice the federal health standard.”

And yet, the situation has improved enough so that smog alerts occur only rarely these days.

Los Angeles wildfires fuel respiratory difficulties

Those brown, hazy days—when you can hardly see the Sierra Madre Mountains  for the dirt and dust in the air—are back, this time because of wildfires.

This week, a number of wildfires scorched a path throughout California, four of them in the greater Los Angeles area. Just like that 1943 ‘gas attack’ and the smog alerts of my grade-school years, they have left eyes smarting and made some people living nearby wheeze, cough and gasp for air.

The largest of these, the Station Fire is still burning enthusiastically; the blaze is only 38 percent under control.

Burning only 15 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, the Station Fire has charred 144,000 acres in the Angeles National Forest north of Los Angeles since it began last Wednesday (Aug. 26).

This fire, which prompted evacuations by homeowners in La Canada Flintridge, Acton, Sunland-Tujunga, La Crescenta and Altadena, is the largest in the history of L.A. County, according to an article posted today, Thursday, September 3, on the Los Angeles Times website. (Most evacuated homeowners have since returned to their homes.)

An article posted Monday on CNN.com gives a dramatic description of the impact of the blaze—which spurred Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to declare a state of emergency in Los Angeles County on Sunday—on the surrounding skies:  “The fire, which has sent plumes of thick smoke spiraling as much as 20,000 feet into the air, is creating its own wind patterns, making it unpredictable, officials said.”

There is the Morris Fire, which charred some 2,260 acres in the San Gabriel Canyon near the Morris Dam between when it started on Monday, Aug. 24 and when it was virtually extinguished on Sunday, Aug. 30.

There are also two wildfires burning east of Los Angeles, in the San Bernardino County cities of Yucaipa and Oak Glen. The larger of these, the Oak Glen Fire, which has claimed 1,159 acres, is now 90 percent contained after claiming 1,159 acres as of today. The other, the 860-acre Pendleton Fire, is now 100 percent under control.

All of this makes for some pretty unwholesome air quality. According to a Sept. 2 story on cbsnews.com, there has been a definite upturn on the number of patients at Glendale Memorial Hospital, located about eight miles from the flames of the Station Fire, with complaints like shortness of breath and asthma.     

The AQMD —the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties—has issued warnings of unhealthy air quality since last Wednesday, a trend that continued today, September 3, with the following news release:

“Smoke from the Station Fire near La Canada continues to cause Unhealthy to Hazardous air quality in the San Gabriel Mountains and the West San Gabriel Valley. Very high concentration of fine particulates are occurring in areas of direct smoke impacts near the fire, especially in the foothill communities of Altadena, La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Tujunga, Sunland, Montrose and Acton. Everyone should avoid physical activity in these areas.

All individuals are urged to exercise caution and avoid unnecessary outdoor activities in any area directly impacted by smoke. This includes areas where residents can see or smell smoke.

Air quality will reach Unhealthy levels, or higher, in smoke impacted areas, especially near the fires. These areas will likely include: the San Gabriel Mountains; the West San Gabriel Valley; the West San Bernardino Mountains; the Santa Clarita Valley; the San Fernando Valley; the East San Gabriel Valley; the East San Bernardino Valley near the Yuciapa fire; the East San Bernardino Mountains; and the Banning/San Gorgonio Pass.

In areas with Hazardous air quality, everyone should avoid outdoor activity. Those with respiratory or other smoke-related symptoms should evacuate to an area with cleaner air.

In areas with Unhealthy air quality and those directly impacted by smoke: Everyone should avoid any vigorous outdoor or indoor exertion; people with respiratory or heart disease, the elderly, and children should remain indoors. Keep your windows and doors closed unless it is extremely hot inside. In these cases, seek alternate shelter. Run your air conditioner if you have one. Keep the fresh air intake closed and the filter clean to prevent bringing additional smoke inside.”

The LA Weight Loss examiner echoed this warning yesterday in a blog titled “Avoid outdoor exercise today due to fire zones.”

Firefighters have made some truly remarkable gains in the last few days.  It is, however, important to remember that air quality can remain unhealthful even after fires have been extinguished.

In wildfires’ aftermaths, “Some people, especially children, may have more respiratory symptoms than usual,” said Dr. Zab Mosenifar of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in a 2003 article posted on KSBW.com.

On Tuesday, Sept. 1, my 9-month-old son began coughing quite a bit, even while inside our home, which is in close proximity to the site of the Morris Fire. Alex, his father and I were lucky enough to be able to take the day off. We spent our time in blaze-free San Diego, ending our low-key jaunt with a great meal at the Ranch House Buffet at the Barona Resort and Casino.

It represented my most decadent “smog alert” ever.

Has the choking smoke left you itching to get out of town?

The American Lung Association has a Forest Fires and Respiratory Health page that addresses the impact of wildfires on those with chronic respiratory problems like asthma, bronchitis and emphysema as well as heart disease. You can check it out here.

Temperatures are predicted to reach 90 degrees in Los Angeles tomorrow, (Friday, September 4), before cooling down by a few degrees over the weekend. In the San Gabriel Valley, they will reach nearly 100 degrees tomorrow before dipping to a relatively temperate high of 88 degrees by Sunday.

Between the heat and smoke, it’s definitely time to stay inside.

There's more.

Sooty skies to come

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the brush, Los Angeles Fire Department Officials seem to be quoting the Bachman Turner Overdrive song, “You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet.” Despite the recent conflagrations, we haven't yet embarked upon Southern California's fire season.

The fire season begins in fall (which commences on Sept. 22 this year) and, with the help of hot and heavy Santa Ana Winds, peaks in October.

"When you see a fire burning like this, with no Santa Ana winds, we know that with the winds, it would be so much worse, so much more intense," explained Captain Mark Whaling of the Los Angeles County Fire Department in a Sept. 2 Associated Press article.

Want to get a bit more apocalyptic? According to an article posted today on the Voice of America website, many scientists are connecting the dots between global warming and increasingly frequent wildfires.

One person looking at this link is Harvard researcher Jennifer Logan, who lent her expertise to the VOA article. Climate change is adding up to longer summers and shorter winters, a trend that is expected to continue in the coming decades, Logan says. She says the resulting dryness can exacerbate the fires that plague our region each year.

California is currently experiencing its third year of drought, according to the Department of Water Resources website. 

As a result of such tinderbox conditions, we may well see a smoke-filled fall as well as some dicey fire seasons in the years to come. The result? Smoke-fueled air quality alerts.  

All this harkens back to my elementary school days, when we sat silently on our desks, tossing a red rubber ball around the room. In other words, mum’s the word.

What can the average person do to prepare for days when the smoke gets in your eyes? Run your air conditioner on the recirculation setting, for one, to prevent bringing in the gases produced by smoke and, most importantly, the fine particles that can have a detrimental effect on respiratory health, says the American Lung Association.

According to many sources, including LA Weight Loss Examiner Kathryn Lilley, residents affected by wildfires may also want to consider investing in indoor air filtration systems equipped with HEPA filters. HEPA filters are 99.7 percent effective when it comes to filtering out airborne particles with a diameter of at .3 micrometers.

A Public Health Guide produced by the U.S. Government and aimed at Public Health officials emphasizes that those who have air purifiers should not assume they are entirely in the clear when it comes to smoke from wildfires, as they aren't effective at removing gases from the air. (Wildfires emit a great deal of greenhouse gases, including carbon monoxide, ozone and atmospheric mercury.)

The guide also notes that air purifiers—which generally run from $50-$300 for portable models aimed at cleaning a single room and from $300 to $1,000 and beyond for whole-house systems—are cost-prohibitive for some households.

Potted purification

If you'd like to make an impact on any soot and smog making inroads on the air quality in your own home, you may also want to think about going green, because houseplants have been found to help purify the air.

These findings may sound a little bit hippy-esque, but the truth is that they are well grounded in science. In the late '80s, a study was undertaken by NASA in cooperation with the Associated Landscape Contractors of America.

Houseplants can be remarkably effective at cleaning up a household's atmosphere, according to an article on NaturalNews.com:

“While it`s a well known fact that plants convert carbon dioxide into oxygen through photosynthesis, the NASA/ALCA study showed that many houseplants also remove harmful elements such as trichloroethylene, benzene, and formaldehyde from the air.”

NASA's original intention was to find ways to help purify the air in space stations, where astronauts stay for extended periods of times. What they learned, however, is something that can apply to those of us right here on Spaceship Earth. (Sorry. That's such a cheesy term to me, I absolutely couldn't resist using it.)

After two years of research using 19 varieties of common houseplants, it was found that these indoor beautifiers are particularly effective at scrubbing the air clean. This is because houseplants are adapted for the low lighting conditions typical of tropical environments, where sunlight is heavily filtered through dense canopies of trees.

As a result, they are more efficient than other kinds of vegetation at processing gases like carbon dioxide, which are needed for photosynthesis.

“Because of this fact, they have greater potential to absorb other gases, including potentially harmful ones,” explains the Natural News article.

These potentially harmful pollutants include volatile organic gases such as benzene and formaldehyde, which are commonly present in smog and often found in the smoke from wildfires.

Every one of the houseplants studied had a beneficial effect on the air, but certain houseplants were found to be better than others. Some of these can get rid of up to 87 percent of indoor air pollutants within the space of a day. What’s more, certain plants are better than others at targeting specific chemicals.

Want to reduce benzene levels? Try English Ivy. Trichloroethylene? Try the Peace Lilly. Formaldehyde? Try a Bamboo Palm. In order to make a real difference in the air quality, NASA recommended utilizing one plant for every 100 to 120 square feet of indoor space. Plants, the researchers said, should be in pots measuring at least six inches with nothing placed over the potting soil.

Since coming across this nifty study, I’m going to try arranging a few houseplants in my place. Who knows? Maybe it will clear the air.

If you’re interested in using your green thumb to alleviate the discomfort caused by dirty air, here is a list of 15 plants that are efficacious at purifying the air.

The list comes straight from the horse’s mouth, or at least straight from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. You should be able to find most of these natural purifiers easily at your local nursery:

Heartleaf Philodendron - Philodendron scandens oxycardium

Elephant Ear Philodendron - Philodendron domesticum

Cornstalk Dracaena - Dracaena fragrans 'Massangeana'

English Ivy - Hedera helix

Spider Plant - Chlorophytum comosum

Janet Craig Dracaena - Dracaena deremensis 'Janet Craig'

Warneck Dracaena - Dracaena deremensis 'Warneckii'

Weeping Fig - Ficus Benjamina

Golden Pothos - Epipiremnum aureum

Peace Lily - Spathiphyllum 'Mauna Loa'

Selloum Philodendron - Philodendron selloum

Chinese Evergreen - Aglaonema modestum

Bamboo or Reed Palm - Chamaedorea sefritzii

Snake Plant - Sansevieria trifasciata

Red-edged Dracaena - Dracaena marginata