Wildfire smoke and smog forced hundreds to NJ emergency rooms with asthma attacks
Historic levels of smoke that descended on New Jersey last week from Canadian forest fires — combined with the region's chronic problem of smog — prompted hundreds to seek treatment for asthma attacks at emergency rooms across the state.
At least 546 residents suffered asthma attacks bad enough for them to seek help at a hospital from Wednesday through Sunday, data from the state Department of Health shows.
The worst was on Wednesday, when a plume of smoke from Quebec fires created some of the worst air pollution in recent memory. The air quality index reached hazardous levels in almost the entire state Wednesday afternoon, prompting 143 to seek treatment in emergency rooms — the highest one-day number over the past two months, when allergy season hit the state.
Smoke forecast
Even though fires are still raging in Quebec and elsewhere, forecasters don't believe New Jersey will see anything this week that could match the hazardous conditions and dark orange skies seen last week. Computer models show little smoke coming into the region over the next 48 hours.
Smoke may travel south later in the week, but it would be west of New Jersey, said Bill Goodman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Brookhaven, New York.
"It would be very, very hard to have the same thing happen to us twice in a season when nothing like that has ever happened in most of our lifetimes," Goodman said. "It was really the perfect storm last week."
Related: Blacks in NJ more likely hit with health issues from Canada wildfire smoke. Here's why
Last week, the number of hospital visits for asthma decreased each day as air quality improved from hazardous Wednesday to very unhealthy Thursday to unhealthy for those with chronic lung disease on Friday.
Visits shot back up on Sunday when New Jersey was hit by a rare combination of air pollution. Smoke from Canada blew into the region again, but not nearly at the same levels as last week. At the same time, smog levels rose as the air temperature increased and the sun shone.
Particulate matter — microscopic pieces of material from combustion such as wildfires — has not been a chronic problem in New Jersey in recent years due to the closing of coal-fired power plants along with the retirement of older diesel engines.
But smog remains a constant threat in New Jersey, especially in hot weather, when sunlight reacts with nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds from cars, power plants and other sources to create ozone pollution. Smog levels vary from year to year, but parts of the state fail air quality standards set by the American Lung Association's annual report.
ER visits for asthma
June is historically one of the quieter months in New Jersey for emergency room visits for asthma, data shows. May is often the worst month, when pollinating trees and flowers trigger attacks.
Visit figures from last week:
June 7: 143
June 8: 122
June 9: 89
June 10: 74
June 11: 118
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Canada wildfire smoke filled NJ hospitals with asthma attacks
