EPA Science Wednesday: EPA Study Shows Health Hazards Associated
with Peat Wildfire Smoke Each week we write about the science
behind environmental protection. Previous Science Wednesdays. By
Sarah Blau A few weeks ago my eyes wouldn’t stop itching. That
intense, burning itch you know you shouldn’t scratch, but
eventually you do. My irritated eyes were telling me that
something was wrong, that some foreign species was polluting the
air I breathe and my body did not like it. The source of this
relentless itch I discovered from the news on the drive
home—wildfires! Wildfire smoke, to be more exact, wafting some
200 miles from the North Carolina coast where peat fires have
been smoldering since early May. As it turns out, I had only one
minor symptom of something that can actually cause serious
health problems. In fact, I recently learned that a team of
scientists led by EPA investigated the cardiovascular health
effects of a similar eastern NC peat fire in 2008. A paper
describing the results of this study was