Amid smoky haze, medical officials recommend a return to masking

• Ben Wasserstein/WITF
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  Howdy, I’m Ben, and I cover the state Capitol. In an alternate universe, my bio would read that I graduated from college, traveled to Bhutan and trained in martial arts so that one day I could return and defend my city from crime … like Batman.
  
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 Jeremy Long / WITF

People walk towards Harrisburg on the Walnut Street Bridge as haze hangs over Harrisburg as smoke from Canadian wildfires filtered into Pennsylvania on June 8, 2023. The smoke degraded air quality across Pennsylvania and other states in the northeast.

For the third day in a row, smoke from the wildfires in Canada blanketed central Pennsylvania with toxic particles.

Included in the smoke are several dangerous chemical compounds including formaldehyde, benzene and toluene, a chemical typically found in paint thinners, said Derek Straub, associate professor of earth and environmental sciences at Susquehanna University.

As the particles affect the air quality index, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone remain inside as much as possible and mask when they go out.

The best mask to wear in this instance is a respirator.

“There are certain respirators, usually it’s for folks that like painting or sort of industrial jobs,” said Taj Rahman, medical director for pulmonary and sleep medicine at UPMC. “They’re rated at like N99 or N99.5.”

N95s, KN95s and KF94s are also good options with filtration around 94% to 95%, Rahman said.

Surgical masks offer around 50% to 70% filtration, Rahman said.

Effects of the smoke can cause watery eyes, sore throat and coughing.

For some, smoke could cause asthma symptoms in people who didn’t know they had it, Rahman said.

“It may be very mild,” Rahman said. “You know, they have on and off symptoms, but this may trigger and sort of uncover it.”

The smoke and particles should slowly fade in coming days, Straub said.

“We’ll kind of be stuck with what we’ve got for a few days,” Straub said. “And then by the weekend, maybe later in the weekend, there’s supposed to be a low pressure system that’s going to sweep through our area. Winds will switch to coming from the south and at that point, we’ll get some rain that will help remove particles as well.”

In addition to masking, the CDC recommends keeping indoor air as clean as possible by avoiding the use of candles, fireplaces and vacuums, which could stir up dust particles.

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