# AQI and health effects

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqi-and-health-effects/796002>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 10, 2017, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqi-and-health-effects/796002 "2017-09-10T16:31:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 10\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![cmosdes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 2017, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqi-and-health-effects/796002/1 "2017-09-10T16:31:47Z")

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Being in Oregon has meant a lot of talk recently about AQI and what events need to be cancelled, reduced or otherwise modified because of this.

I’ve read the EPA pamphlet on AQI and what it means, but they give precious little hard facts on what various exposures really mean.

For example, because of all the smoke from the forest fires, our AQI had often been between 100 and 150. The EPA calls this unhealthy for sensitive groups. So what does that mean? Are people significantly more likely to suffer permanently from an hour of exposure to breathing this air? How does this translate into measurable health effects?

I’d like to translate this risk into risk from not putting on sunscreen. I’ve seen WAY too many kids be sent out into the blazing sun in the middle of summer for hours at a time with no sunscreen and those same parents are up in arms about a kid running around for an hour or so when the AQI is 120. I’d like to know which is really worse.

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**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 2017, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqi-and-health-effects/796002/2 "2017-09-10T16:41:22Z")

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Here in Shanghai the AQI is usually around that level and sometimes several times that. The health effects, assuming we’re just talking particulate matter, are probably negligable until you’ve been breathing it for years. Or if, as they say, you have some existing condition that makes you more sensitive to poor quality air.

That said, I wouldn’t go running in air much above 100; you will get out of breath more quickly and may even feel some tightness in the chest.

If you’re concerned you can buy inexpensive masks that filter out particulates and air filters for the home to ensure you’re not breathing bad air all day and night.

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**Author:** ![cmosdes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 2017, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqi-and-health-effects/796002/3 "2017-09-10T16:54:48Z")

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You wouldn’t go running in it because it would be uncomfortable or because it would jeopardize your long term health?

I’ve been running in this air, sometimes as much as 15 miles, and I never noticed any adverse affects. I can understand people who are sensitive to it not wanting to feel discomfort, but I’m not really in favor of cancelling events just because a few of the kids might feel a little more out of breath.

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**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 2017, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqi-and-health-effects/796002/4 "2017-09-10T17:11:10Z")

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IANAD - Kids and excessive sun may not show serious adverse effects for years, perhaps decades. Bad air can can have immediate health effects and start long-term health issues.

Portland’s AQI was 159 and 154 last week on its worst days. This morning it’s 22.

Last Monday, Potlatch, Idaho, had an AQI rating of 497. This morning it’s 59.

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**Author:** ![cmosdes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqi-and-health-effects/796002/5 "2017-09-10T17:30:05Z")

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How does pointing out the AQI has fluctuated wildly over the past week answer the question of the risk associated with an AQI of 140?

I understand the AQI was much worse than normal. People looked at the “Unhealthy for sensitive people” classification and wanted to shut down all activities. Maybe there is good reason for that thought, but maybe breathing that air for an hour or two, even heavily, over the course of a decade doesn’t have any measurable impacts to health. I recognize some might find it uncomfortable, and those that do should stay out of it. But I don’t think we should be shutting down activities for 1000+ people when there is almost no risk to the vast majority.

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**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 2017, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqi-and-health-effects/796002/6 "2017-09-10T17:46:13Z")

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> [@cmosdes](#):
>
> You wouldn’t go running in it because it would be uncomfortable or because it would jeopardize your long term health?

I would find it uncomfortable and I _wouldn’t know_ what the health effects are.

Let me clarify on this.

I’m someone who has chosen to live in a city with some of the world’s worst air quality, and continue doing long-distance running. So I’m someone happy to accept some level of risk and be realistic about things.  
I guess another thing I could have said is that if you’re willing to sit near a camp fire for a few hours, then walking around in air that is 100-150 shouldn’t bother you, as the former is much worse than the latter.

But it’s also not as simple as saying there are no effects for decades.

I can’t run in air that is over 100. And I know this somewhat scientifically; when I’ve been out in AQI of, say, 70 but struggled to cover my normal distance, the next time the AQI gets updated I’ll see it has suddenly jumped to 120 for example. Without fail – apart from things like muscle cramp, the only times I’ve ever failed to complete my planned route is when AQI has jumped up, and I’m a regular runner.

Now, tightness in the chest doesn’t necessarily mean that some kind of acute problem is happening. But it doesn’t feel like something to handwave.

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**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 2017, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqi-and-health-effects/796002/7 "2017-09-10T18:48:28Z")

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For the befuddled among those reading this thread, the acronym refers to [air quality index](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_quality_index).

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**Author:** ![cmosdes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 2017, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqi-and-health-effects/796002/8 "2017-09-10T21:34:31Z")

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I’ve read multiple places that indicate getting even 1 sunburn will increase your risk of getting skin cancer. I can dig out sources if needed, but my point is that there is a documented risk to going out in the sun and risking a sunburn.

Where are the links of AQI to deteriorated health?

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**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 2017, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqi-and-health-effects/796002/9 "2017-09-10T22:57:58Z")

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I’ll take a stab at the op - yes, to some degree exposure to a high AQI has some increased long term risk. Hard though to translate that into the increased skin cancer risk of a blistering sunburn sort of scale.

What we do know is that [particulate pollution](http://health.usnews.com/health-care/patient-advice/articles/2017-05-02/the-link-between-air-pollution-and-lung-cancer), especially particles 2.5 microns or smaller, are cancer causing. Forest fire smoke is apparently right [around there](https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/OEPR_Fire-and-smoke-FAQ.pdf):

> [@](#):
>
> Smoke particulate averages about 0.3 microns

How much of an AQI at any certain level is based on an increased amount of those particles? I don’t know. The AQI _seems_ to be based more on _immediate_ risks (like triggering a heart attack in someone with existing heart disease and the like) than those longer term risks. A [SciAm](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/air-pollution-a-leading-cause-of-ca/) article also about the link of air pollution and in particular particulate pollution to cancer risks. But a high AQI from a forest fire seems likely to have a fair amount of those particles associated with longer term risks.

My guess is that one day of moderately elevated exposure to someone who is not at otherwise high immediate risk is very small increased long term risk.

Children tough are included as a “sensitive group.”

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**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 2017, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aqi-and-health-effects/796002/10 "2017-09-10T23:18:12Z")

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The information on the risks associated across much of the world with _indoor_ exposure to combusted biomass smoke, as reviewed in [this article](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2568866/), might be helpful to the question at hand as well. But that does not translate directly to the AQI, nor necessarily to short term transient exposures.

> [@](#):
>
> Air pollution is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. The greatest health impacts from air pollution worldwide occur among the poorest and most vulnerable populations. The amount of exposure in terms of the number of people, exposure intensity and time spent exposed is far greater in the developing world (Smith, 1993); approximately 76% of all global particulate matter air pollution occurs indoors in the developing world (Figure 1). … There is now evidence linking an increased risk of respiratory tract infections, exacerbations of inflammatory lung conditions, cardiac events, stroke, eye disease, tuberculosis (TB), cancer and hospital admissions with air pollution levels … Inefficient burning of BMF on an open fire or traditional stove generates large amounts of particulate matter as well as carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, oxygenated organics, free radicals and chlorinated organics (Naeher et al., 2007). The particulate matter component of this smoke is classified according to its size, with inhalable material \<10 μm in aerodynamic diameter referred to as PM10. The 24-h mean particulate matter levels set in the WHO guidelines for air quality are 50 μg/m3 for PM10 and 25 μg/m3 for PM2.5 (WHO, 2006b), but in many parts of the developing world the peak indoor concentration of PM10 often exceeds 2000 μg/m3 (Ezzati and Kammen, 2001; Regalado et al., 2006). Critically, there are age, gender and socioeconomic differences in levels of exposure and the consequent health effects (Bruce et al., 2000). Exposure to BMF has been estimated to have caused 0.5% of all deaths and 0.4% of all disability-adjusted life-years in South Africa in 2000 …

Not completely answering the question of the op I know but I think that is probably as “hard fact” as it can get at this point. I’ll stick with my WAG of one hour or so at an AQI of 120 as much less risk than one blistering sunburn.  
Argh - forgot to turn off that dang autosig!