Colorado Fire Rivaled Worst Air Pollution Days According to
Colorado State University researchers, the summer’s High Park
Fire has higher particulate matter that some of the worst air
pollution days in Los Angeles or Mexico City in the past decade.
Researchers took toxicity measurements with a small, inexpensive
test device made from paper they created and attached to
individuals who wore them for the duration of the fire. The
device, worn on the shoulder, measured oxidative intake of
particulate air pollution. "Not only was the air pollution some
of the highest we've seen in decades in Colorado during the
fire, its toxic strength rivaled the worst days we see in those
cities," said John Volckens, a professor of Environmental and
Radiological Health Sciences who conducted the study with Chuck
Henry, a professor of Chemistry. "On days before the High Park
Fire, the air pollution levels were some of the cleanest in the
country." The device could help scientists better understand the
effects of air pollution on