Smoke 101: An intro to a new summer reality
The Big Story
00:00
The Effects of Smoke on the Immune System
PM2.5 is the particulate matter that is less than 2.5 microns per meter cube. It's so small that it can go all the way down into our respiratory passageways and into our alveoli, but they can actually cross into our blood. Once they're there, they initiate an inflammatory cascade. And we see effects very far from just where our respiratory passages are like heart attacks, increasing. Sometimes some of the studies have shown a potential increase in preterm birth and other types of trouble concentrating.
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