let's take a closer look at the health effects of ultrafine dust and what we
can do to protect ourselves from its harmful effects we're happy to have dr.
Christopher Carlson head of respiratory medicine at the University of British
Columbia and director of the air pollution lab who's joining us on skype
from just outside of Vancouver a dr. Carlston we've been forced to enjoy this
really depressing week of hazardous levels of ultrafine dust in South Korea
between five to eight times what's considered safe firstly can you tell us
what fine dust does to the human body and why it's considered so harmful right
thanks mark I do I feel for your viewers I was watching and I really see the the
problem very graphically the the fine particles are those that are less than
2.5 micron so they're not visible each particle to the naked eye but of course
you can see on your screens when the particles are all together in a large
air mass you can see the the group together but because they're so small
they get deep into the lung and they can even get into the bloodstream and cause
inflammation that's why these particles are dangerous not only for the lungs but
also for the bloodstream and even the the heart so heart and lung disease as
well as other disease have all been associated with these particles the the
key thing is that most of the effects thankfully are long-term and so I know
your your viewers have been suffering for days now we can hope that it will
pass and I'm sure it will pass and we can get through this episode okay and
yes most of us would be prefer to be outside enjoying the early spring
weather but of course that is an advisable as you say and I must say
we're very jealous of the blue skies we can see behind you but allow you say
during periods like this is that your advice then we should stay inside
whenever possible keep the no shut have an air purifier going and
if we do go outside for prolonged periods
aside from wearing a face mask something that's enough to protect you from the
finest particles what's what are the other best ways to protect yourself the
other thing when you're outdoors if you really need to be there and I understand
we we do need to be outside for practical purposes is to minimize the
intensity of activity so the respiratory rate which is related to how fast you
breathe and how deep you deeply you breathe is a huge factor in in terms of
how much air pollution gets deep into the lung so exercising in these
conditions is is really not advised but on the other hand it's really important
to let your viewers know mark that even though I see the pollution I see the
numbers and I see how bad it is this is not likely to be dangerous for most
people for a short period of time you're also the director of the air pollution
lab so you're an expert on air pollution why do you think the small confined dust
is just so bad in South Korea at the moment a lot of people here blame China
do you think that's an accurate assessment well I saw those numbers and
I was a bit surprised it was worse than I had realized so I think it really
depends on whether you're talking about long term averages or short term
averages the long term averages I'm sure have much to do with South Korea itself
and the traffic and the industry in South Korea but I think these short-term
effects like this probably have a lot to do with meteor logic factors wind and
pressure and indeed the direction of the wind so on a day or a period a week or
so or even longer that the wind is coming from China well there's no
question that that's going to affect South Korea's air quality but I think
it's just important not to blame China universally year-round because it's much
more complicated than that so I'm sure China is contributing but not every day
and not all the time so we have to understand those subtleties a bit
if you were to advise the South Korean government about ways to mitigate fine
dust what would you suggest they do is it really going to take something
drastic to ensure that we aren't subjected to this find us for years
decades to come well as you say years and decades I mean I honestly think
although it is a long term and more complex solution global partnerships to
reduce fossil fuel use to curb climate change things that are very complicated
but I think without doing those we're going to continue to face these problems
and they're going to get worse those absolutely have to be high in the
government agenda and the short-term basis I did hear about possible
subsidies to air filters and other things the government can do to lessen
the burden on the everyday citizen and I think that's money very well spent in
the long term that money is not going to be a ton but it could help especially
those vulnerable people with heart and lung disease so I think it's a it's a
very smart thing for the government to do okay dr. Carlston go back and enjoy
the rest of your skiing vacation we appreciate you breaking into that to
speak to us and thank you for your insights on the fine dust issue
affecting us here in South Korea appreciate it I wish you the best thank
you