lung disease

A thick layer of smoke from the Carr Fire settles over California's Central Valley in a view from a jet earlier this summer. Fine particulate matter from drifting wildfire smoke mixes with industrial ozone and can become trapped between the mountain range

Noxious Mix of Smoke And Pollution Stresses Health In California's Heartland

5:06pm August 31, 2018

by Ana B. Ibarra

Low-income residents living near highways and agricultural and industrial zones are getting hit with a "double whammy" as wildfire smoke drifts to areas where the air is often polluted already.

Resident Moe Blythe watches the Holy Fire burn near homes on August 9, 2018 in Corona, California.

In Parts Of California Blanketed With Wildfire Smoke, Breathing Is 'A Chore'

8:42pm August 10, 2018

As fires continue to rage in California, smoke is causing health problems for some residents. Public health officials warn against breathing polluted air.

An image from an electron microscope shows a type II alveolar cell, found in the air sacs of lungs. In the cell's cytoplasm (pink) are lamellar bodies (purple), which contain surfactant.

Experimental Lung Treatment Could Make Breathing Easier

9:55am May 02, 2018

by Joe Palca

Lung surfactant coats tiny air sacs in the lung. Without it, every breath is a struggle, like blowing up millions of little balloons. With surfactant, breathing is as easy as blowing soap bubbles.

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When wildfire smoke choked their community last summer, Amy Cilimburg (left), the director of Climate Smart Missoula, helped Joy and Don Dunagan, of Seeley Lake, Mont., get a HEPA air filter through a partnership with the Missoula City-County Health Depar

When Wildfire Smoke Invades, Who Should Pay To Clean Indoor Air?

8:14am February 25, 2018

by Nora Saks

Public health agencies are set up to regulate air pollution from cars, trucks and factories. Wildfire smoke presents a different set of threats, prompting some of those agencies to rethink priorities.

Wildfire smoke filled the sky in Seeley Lake, Mont. on Aug. 7, 2017. Weather effects concentrated the accumulating smoke, chronically exposing residents to harmful substances in the air.

Montana Wildfires Provide A Wealth Of Data On Health Effects Of Smoke Exposure

8:08am February 24, 2018

by Nora Saks

Last summer's wildfires handed scientists a rare chance to study effects of smoke on residents. Most previous work had been on wood-burning stoves, urban air pollution and the effects on firefighters.

Juanita Milton, who suffers from COPD, uses her nebulizer with albuterol sulfate at her home in Live Oak, Texas.

Many COPD Patients Struggle To Pay For Each Breath

10:57pm June 02, 2017

by Sarah Jane Tribble

One in 9 Medicare enrollees have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and many of them can't afford the inhalers that keep them out of the emergency room.

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