Publication: NBC News
UCLA Expert: Kevin Riley: Director, UCLA Labor and Occupational Safety and Health Program
Synopsis: The conditions that brought smoke to the eastern U.S. are becoming increasingly common because of climate change and historical policies of fire suppression in North America.
UCLA News: New York state has no law to govern workers’ exposures specifically to wildfire smoke. Riley said he was not aware of any states apart from Washington, Oregon and California that have specific smoke protections for workers. A decade ago, less than half a million people in the U.S. lived in areas that experienced unhealthy levels of wildfire smoke for at least a day. In research last year, researchers found the number had risen to more than 8 million.
Read more at NBC News.
