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Inert_Uncle_858 t1_j1xvuah wrote

Reply to comment by Joran_Dax in From purpleair.com: Eastern Pennsylvania has MUCH worse air quality than Western Pennsylvania tonight. by Extreme_Qwerty

But like, is it supposed to affect us somehow? Make it hard to breathe? Even during the forest fires I never was able to tell. During that time I was located in Berks and Chester counties. I now live in Northern Chester county not far from Pottstown. Never experienced anything I would call poor air quality, outside of an enclosed space with machinery or paint booth.

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Joran_Dax t1_j1xzux8 wrote

In the short term, most healthy people won't even notice the air quality, unless it becomes extremely bad. However, for those individuals who have health conditions that affect breathing, such as asthma, emphysema, etc., it's more problematic and can cause acute respiratory distress. Long-term exposure to high levels of air pollutants, even for healthy people, can lead to respiratory problems, similar, as I understand it, to smokers.

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TOW2Bguy t1_j1yivgd wrote

In the case of open-air trash fires 🔥, commonly called burn pits in the military, or in rural areas that still allow burn barrels, damaged lungs can happen over the course of just a few months.

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