EPA study shows link between poverty and health effects from wildfire smoke

Press release:

EPA study shows link between poverty and health effects from wildfire smoke

A new EPA study published online in the journal Environmental Health shows that poverty and income inequality are risk factors for asthma attacks and congestive heart failure for residents exposed to a North Carolina wildfire in 2008. The paper is available at: http://www.ehjournal.net/content/11/1/71/abstract.

This study examined socioeconomic factors to determine health risks from wildfires, particularly peat bog fires. The study used data from an earlier EPA study that reported that smoke from the fire in the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife refuge in North Carolina led to increased emergency department visits for congestive heart failure, asthma, and other health problems.