Fresno Ultrafines Cause Worry

I've long ago become wary of atmospheric pollutant research from UC Davis. For so many studies, UCD researchers came to conclusions that their data couldn't support. It became something of an embarrassment.

But it all depends who is doing the research. If somebody told me that UCD concluded that Fresno had a problem, I would yawn. If somebody told me that Anthony Wexler concluded that Fresno had a problem, I would sit up and take notice. I met Wexler once, and found him helpful and thoughtful. Someone who would take instruction from the data, rather than the other way around:

A mysterious shower of microscopic chemicals near a Fresno shopping center could be the first evidence of a broad, undetected assault on the lungs of San Joaquin Valley residents.

If confirmed in other Valley cities, it means many thousands of people are daily breathing these cocktails of chemicals -- known as ultra-fine particles -- that corrode and damage lungs.

The plume in Fresno probably spreads over many square miles, not just the Fashion Fair area where they were discovered, said UC Davis atmospheric scientist Anthony Wexler, who detected the pollution.

Sensitive, expensive equipment is needed to detect and study ultrafine pollution. Science is only now defining the possible problem.

...The particles are so small that 1,000 of them would fit across the width of a human hair. For years, science has known that such particles exist, but they are thousands of times smaller than previously studied particles in dust, soot and diesel smoke.

Health problems from such pollution were detailed last month in a study on allergic asthmatics, whose lungs are inflamed to the point that only a small amount of pollen, animal hair or other allergens can trigger a crippling attack.

The findings from Dr. Andre Nel, a UCLA medical researcher, were published by the American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology.

"If there is a surge in ultra-fine pollution particles, it makes twitchy airways even more twitchy," he said. "It results in a much lower threshold of allergens to create an asthmatic response or an attack."

These specks can come from volcanoes or ocean spray, but they also come from printer toner, vehicle exhaust and chemical reactions in the air. Fresno's particles may come from traffic and other pollution vapors.

...Wexler said he suspects the particles form after pollution gases accumulate in the air each day, though there could be a particular source spewing the particles.

...Is this midday rise in pollution occurring in other Valley cities? It's possible, said Wexler. This kind of pollution also has been detected in other places, such as Pittsburgh, which has problems with particle pollution.

The Valley is known nationally for particle pollution. In the American Lung Association's latest rankings, Bakersfield and Fresno-Madera were the country's two worst places for short-term bouts of particle pollution.