toxic smoke here is a lovely graphic photo of post surgery.
Now, that photo shows the easy peasy part.
The tough part is when the lung actually collapses and you are gasping for air on the side of the street , waiting for the paramedics to come.
" Oh look Dahhhhling, there's our neighbor gasping for air . Doesn't she look serene with all that lovely grey smoke wafting around her fallen body. , Another glass of wine and another log for the fire dear ?
But that really doesn't compare to the out of this world kind of pain when they stick a 14 inch long needle into your lungs to aspirate the lung and then the ribbed intercostal drainage tube gets rammed thru your spayed rib cage.
Yeah , its a real joy walking around with a drainage tube sticking out of your side , which is connected to some sort of alarm system that goes off when ever your levels go above or below .
But the best part was 7 days of morphine while in the ICU unit.
I sure needed it after seeing the hospital bill - $ 141,000.00
Thank goodness I had some form of health insurance.
Only had to pay 10 grand for out of pocket expenses.
OH the romance of it all, a nice wood burning fire, 24 / 7
Yikes!
ReplyDeleteThat doesn't excuse the sheer ignorance of calling wood-smoke is "toxic" and "pollution" and an "environmental health risk" just because it happens to be irritating to YOU.
ReplyDeleteOh dear Anoynmous.
ReplyDeleteYour ignorance must be blissful.
http://www.baaqmd.gov/pio/wood_burning/woodburning_handbook.pdf
Didn't you go to elementary school ?
Well for your adult continuing education ( definitely a requisite for you ! )
All you have to do is write health effect and pollution effects from wood burning smoke in a google search and a couple thousand informative and educational hits will inform your ignorance.
What Happens When Wood Burns?
Complete combustion gives off light, heat, and the gases carbon dioxide and water
vapor. Because when wood burns complete combustion does not occur, it also
produces wood smoke, which contains the following major air pollutants, which are
regulated by State and Federal regulations because of their known health effects:
Carbon Monoxide (CO) – An odorless, colorless gas,
produced in large amounts by burning wood with insufficient
air. CO reduces the blood’s ability to supply oxygen to body
tissues, can cause stress on your heart and reduce your ability
to exercise. Exposure to CO can cause long-term
health problems, dizziness, severe headaches,
unconsciousness and other serious effects. Those most at risk
from CO poisoning are the unborn child, and people with
anemia, heart, circulatory or lung disease.
Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) – NOx impairs the respiratory system and its ability to
fight infection. NOx also combines with VOCs and contributes to the formation of
ozone and with water vapor to form acid rain or acid fog.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) – Evaporated carbon compounds which react
with NOx in sunlight to form ozone (photochemical smog). Ozone injures the lungs
and makes breathing difficult, especially in children and exercising adults. NOx and
VOCs also form particulate matter through a series of complex reactions.
Toxic Pollutants – Wood smoke also contains VOCs which
include toxic and/or cancer-causing substances, such as
benzene, formaldehyde and benzo-a-pyrene, a polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH). Manufactured fireplace logs, for
instance, are not recommended for burning because they
produce toxic fumes, including PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls). Researchers are
now studying these and other smoke products to learn more about their effects on
human health.
Particulate Matter less than 10 microns in
diameter (PM10) are very small droplets of
condensed organic vapors of wood tar and
gases. These particles are a result of unburned
fuel and have a diameter of 10 microns or
smaller (the diameter of a human hair is about
50 to 100 microns), which allows them to be
inhaled into the lungs. Exposure to PM10
aggravates a number of respiratory illnesses.
PM10 includes a smaller group of particles called PM2.5, particles with diameters of
2.5 microns and less. These finer particles pose an increased health risk because
they can lodge deep in the lungs and contain substances that are particularly harmful
to human health, contributing to lung diseases and cancer. Exposure to PM2.5
This is an appallingly shocking story, Michelle. We have many many wood burning stoves and fireplaces here in Buffalo, as you can imagine, and I had never heard of anything like this happening.
ReplyDeleteThere is at least one on my block--probably a couple more--and I've never noticed anything. Must be a reason for it. We don't have one so I don't know the requirements.