UCLA Pulmonologist: Wildfire Smoke, Including from Burning Batteries, Causes Immediate and Long-term Health Risks

UCLA pulmonary specialist John Belperio told the California State Assembly Health Committee on Jan. 7 that wildfire smoke is causing immediate respiratory illness and can trigger longer-term systemic problems.

Belperio, chief of the division of pulmonary, critical care, allergy, immunology and sleep at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, said the fine particles produced by fires are especially hazardous. "The purple dot is particulate matter, 2.5 microns or less," Belperio said, adding that those particles "make people with asthma, COPD, interstitial lung disease, and lung transplant patients decompensate."

Why it matters: Particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) penetrates deep into the lung and can produce both localized pulmonary inflammation and systemic effects that increase risk for…