Wildfire Smoke can be mitigated by N95 Face Masks.

With the smoke from over 100 wildfires in Canada pushing air quality measures to unhealthy, very unhealthy and in some cases hazardous levels across much of the Northeast and Middle Atlantic U.S., many more people in the Eastern U.S. are resorting to wearing N95 face masks for protection against wildfire smoke. In response, some locations are distributing N95 face masks again. New York State Governor Kathy Hochul (D) recently announced the distribution of approximately one million N95-style face masks, with around 400,000 being distributed at State-Owned Facilities in the New York City area, such as Metropolitan Transit Authority and Port Authority locations, New York State Parks and the Javits Center. The remaining 600,000 will go to local governments at Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Stockpiles.

The emphasis here should be on the N95. These face masks are not all the same, and it is important to recognize the effectiveness of N95 models in protecting against smoke inhalation. Testing has shown that N95 face masks, which have received the designation from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), can filter out at least 95% of all small particles. This designation is based on the percentage of airborne particles filtered out, with the “N” indicating that the mask is not resistant to oil. By contrast, regular face coverings such as cloth masks and surgical masks are less effective in filtering out particulate matter in smoke due to their larger pores or openings. These masks may also allow fine particulate matter to sneak in from the sides if they do not have a tight seal against the face. Therefore, it is important to wear a properly fitted N95 face mask to protect against wildfire smoke.