https://www.ocregister.com/2018/07/06/raised-smog-levels-add-to-discomfort-during-southern-california-heat-wave/
https://archive.fo/OeGmh
https://archive.fo/OeGmh
Triple-digit heat is not the only thing making millions of inland Southern Californians uncomfortable this weekend.
Smog levels are expected to bump up, as atmospheric inversion layers trap pollution near the surface, bringing caustic, sunlight-produced ozone and lung-damaging particulates closer to residents residing in high-population suburbs of Los Angeles.
Ozone pollution is expected to reach “unhealthy to very unhealthy” levels in Santa Clarita, the San Gabriel Valley and the San Fernando Valley as well as portions of the Inland Empire and San Bernardino Mountains, according to the SCAQMD air pollution advisory in place through Sunday.
Ground-level ozone is a colorless, odorless gas produced in the air when heat and sunlight “cooks” emissions from automobiles, oil refineries and architectural coatings and produces O3, an oxygen radical that is the most prominent summertime smog component.
Ozone causes respiratory health problems, including trouble breathing, shortness of breath, asthma attacks and long-term lung damage after extended exposures.
Numerous studies show ozone can increase the risk of premature death.
Ozone affects vulnerable populations, namely children, older adults and people with asthma or COPD.
Particulates, often from automobile tires and brake pads and diesel emissions from trucks, can be a triple threat depending on their size: PM2.5, 40 times smaller than the width of a human hair, and ultra-fine particles can bypass the body’s defense systems and lodge in the lungs and blood stream, causing cancer and heart disease.
Recent studies suggest a link between fine particles and Alzheimer’s disease.
The bad air follows on the heels of the season’s first heat wave. The National Weather Service sent out a heat advisory that will be in place from 10 a.m. Friday through 9 p.m. Saturday.
No comments:
Post a Comment