Wildfire Smoke and Populations in Puerto Rico that Could Experience Greater Adverse Effects

In Puerto Rico, wildfires mainly occur during the dry season. While the number of wildfires can vary significantly from year to year, the smoke from any one of these events can have a significant impact on residents, especially certain groups.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has even published information about certain life stages and populations that may be at greater risk of experiencing health effects due to wildfire smoke exposure. The agency warns these at-risk populations should be particularly diligent about limiting exposure to wildfire smoke because evidence indicates that the risk of fine particle-related health effects varies throughout a lifetime.

EPA’s list of at-risk populations includes the following:

• People with asthma and other respiratory diseases - Air pollution, such as wildfire smoke, may not affect healthy people, but for people with chronic lung diseases, such as asthma and COPD, it can lead to breathing difficulties and trigger exacerbations of their disease.
  
  
• People with cardiovascular disease - Diseases of the circulatory system can put individuals at increased risk of cardiovascular-related events triggered by air pollutants.
  
  
• Children - All children, even those with no pre-existing illness or chronic conditions, are considered sensitive to air pollution, including wildfire smoke.
  
  
• Pregnant women - During pregnancy, physiologic changes, such as higher respiratory rates and increases in blood and plasma volumes, increase one’s vulnerability to environmental exposures. Additionally, during critical windows of human development, exposure to wildfire smoke may harm the developing fetus.
  
  
• Older adults - Older adults are at increased risk of health effects from short-term exposures to wildfire smoke because of their higher prevalence of pre-existing lung and heart diseases, and because important physiologic processes, including defense mechanisms, decline with age.
  
  
• Outdoor workers - Extended periods of time exposed to high concentrations of wildfire smoke could result in a range of health effects depending on the underlying health status of the worker.
  
  

“Even if you are miles from a wildfire, smoke can travel a considerable distance when weather conditions are right,” said Harry Pena, President of Zimmetry Environmental. “Unhealthy air can not only impact outdoor workers, but also make its way into homes, schools, offices, and other buildings. Smoke residues and odors can even create lasting indoor environmental quality problems. Residues are also known to damage electronics, and cause corrosion, etching, and discoloration on surfaces. To help in these situations, the industrial hygiene and indoor environmental quality professionals at Zimmetry offer air testing services to identify and mitigate exposure risks to wildfire smoke and other pollutants. We provide employee training services on the proper use of respirators and air monitoring instruments, building assessments to evaluate filtration and engineering controls, smoke residue and odor investigations, and much more.”

Zimmetry also recently sponsored an educational video about wildfire smoke and populations that could experience greater risks that can be seen at: https://youtu.be/cAJtHCGXtRg

To learn more about Zimmetry Environmental and industrial hygiene, environmental, air quality, compliance, and consulting services, please visit www.zimmetry.com, call (787) 995.0005, or email info@zimmetry.com.

About Zimmetry Environmental
Since 2002, Zimmetry Environmental has been providing environmental consulting services to building owners and managers, architects, engineers, EHS professionals, and Fortune 500 companies. The company is based in Puerto Rico and provides services across the Caribbean and Central America. The professionals at Zimmetry offer environmental compliance, indoor air quality, asbestos, lead-based paint, Phase I ESAs, and general environmental consulting services.

Contact Information

Paul Cochrane

President

Cochrane & Associates, LLC

Contact via E-mail