Smoky air still risk to health

Particulate matter from Fresno debris fire can trigger problems.

By Barbara Anderson
The Fresno Bee

(Updated Tuesday, January 21, 2003, 8:08 AM)

Federal environmental health officials said Monday that clouds of acrid smoke from a debris fire in southwest Fresno continue to pose health risks and they plan to fight the blaze with a fire-smothering foam today.

"We definitely are concerned about the particulate matter in the air -- the smoke and the emissions from it," said Michelle Rogow, an on-scene coordinator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

"Be aware that this fire is ongoing ... there is an increased amount of particulates; and to be cautious," Rogow said.

A decision Monday to begin fighting the fire with foam was based on an assessment of the fire-suppression effort, EPA spokesman Mark Merchant said.

Members of the unified command (with a city fire, county environmental health and EPA representative) expect foam will cut down on particulates in the air and should help with extinguishing the fire, Merchant said.

So far, firefighters have used water and bulldozing equipment to attack the fire. Officials estimate it could continue burning for an additional 10 days to two weeks.

Local environmental activists and health officials took issue Monday with what they called "misleading" comments made over the weekend by Fresno City Manager Dan Hobbs, who said he was relieved to hear "there is no danger off the site."

"It was irresponsible for city officials to downplay the risks," representatives of the Medical Advocates for Healthy Air and the Sierra Club-Tehipite Chapter said in a news release Monday.

"I was outraged," said Sierra Club member Kevin Hall after a 3 p.m. news conference at Fresno Park on Kearney Boulevard and South Fruit Avenue. "He was misinforming the public."

Hall said he doesn't want to create a panic, but "we're trying to create awareness."

Hobbs said Monday he was speaking about levels of carcinogenic chemicals as reported by the EPA, which were shown to not be at hazardous levels.

"The data is there's no danger to the community from toxins or carcinogens. That's what I think was really on everybody's mind. The risk posed by smoke -- we know that. I don't appreciate anybody putting me in the position of saying I'm minimizing that."

Said Mayor Alan Autry: "I'm sorry it didn't turn into the Chernobyl [Kevin Hall] wanted it to -- thank God."

Confusion about the health risks from the fire occurred Sunday when the EPA released preliminary results from air samples taken at the site of the fire, at the Archie Crippen Excavation near Nielsen and Marks avenues. The samples showed the air contained the toxic chemicals benzene and chloromethane, but not at levels high enough to cause undue health concerns.

Fresno City Council Member Cynthia Sterling also was criticized for remarks she made at the fire scene.

Sterling said Monday the public release of information was according to "research at the time" and was done to "assure the public that everything was being done to protect them."

The public is invited to a meeting about the fire at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in City Hall chambers, she said.

Sterling represents the southwest Fresno area most affected by the fire. Sterling and Deputy Mayor Roger Montero will lead a task force to investigate how a football-sized field of wood, metal, plastics, asphalt, concrete and mattresses spontaneously combusted at the excavation business.

Monday, Rogow of the EPA said hazardous-chemical findings from air samples are preliminary and do not mean residents should ignore the smoke.

"Smoke is an irritant. We know that's a problem," she said.

Fine particles from burning wood are tiny enough to bypass the nose and throat to pierce lung tissue. The particles are known to trigger asthma attacks, bouts of bronchitis and sinus infections, among other respiratory conditions. They also are linked to an increase in heart attacks in people with cardiac problems.

"Our position has been and always will be that breathing smoke is unhealthy," said Josette Merced Bello, spokeswoman for the San Joaquin Air Pollution Control District.

"The fact that we didn't find carcinogens and toxics at high levels in the smoke is somewhat good news," Bello said. "But that doesn't mitigate the health risks of particulates in the smoke."

The district issued health advisories about the level of particulates in the air that caused the Fresno Unified School District to cancel outdoor activities for four days last week. School officials will look at air-quality forecasts today before deciding whether children can play outdoors and participate in sports, said district spokeswoman Jill Marmolejo.

Smoke from the fire meant busy doctor offices and clinics in Fresno last week.

At the Elm Street clinic operated by Sequoia Community Health Foundation, health workers estimate a 25% increase in overall upper respiratory complaints can be traced to smoke from the fire. And employees of the clinic have been affected as well.

"A lot of headaches, eye irritation -- that kind of thing," said Susan Harrington-Howard, a nurse practitioner.

Floyd D. Harris Jr., who lives about three miles east of the fire, said he didn't equate his dizziness and nausea to the fire until his wife said her lungs were tight and she was using an asthma inhaler for the first time in years.

"You really just can't breathe over in that area right now," Harris said. "It's like it goes up and comes down like the fog."

The reporter can be reached at banderson@fresnobee.com or 441-6310.