Health warning issued for smoke exposure from Farmstead fire

A health warning was issued today for people living near the former Farmstead Foods plant, where a fire that started this morning is being left to burn.

Residents living or working nearby were advised to stay indoors to limit exposure to the smoke. Exposure to smoke can cause eye irritation, coughs and sore throats.

Curtis Dickson, director of Linn County Public Health, said part of the problem is not knowing what is in the buildings.

“It's not just the building, it's whatever materials were in that building” that is creating the smoke, he said.

The site, also called the Sinclair property, at 1600 Third St. SE, has been vacant since last year's flood. Officials said multiple interconnected buildings on the east side of the vacant property are burning and because of safety concerns, firefighters decided not to actively fight the fire.

Linn County Public Health officials advised people living or working immediately east of the Sinclair property to Cargill on Otis Road SE to consider staying indoors and limiting exercise.

Staying inside with the doors and windows closed can usually reduce exposure to air pollution by about a third or more, noted Jim Hodina, air pollution control officer.

People with asthma and allergies may experience more problems from the smoke and exposure may also aggravate pre-existing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, such as COPD.

Hodina recommended that people reduce their physical activity. During exercise, people can increase air intake as much as 10 to 20 times over their resting level and increased breathing rates bring more pollution deep into the lungs.

Also, people tend to breathe through their mouths during exercise, bypassing the natural filtering ability of the nasal passages and delivering more pollution to the lungs.

Hodina also advised residents to reduce their levels of indoor sources of air pollution, such as cigarette smoking, using gas, propane and wood-burning stoves and furnaces, spraying aerosol products, frying or broiling meat, burning candles and incense, and vacuuming.

All can increase particle levels in a home and should be avoided when environmental smoke is present, he said.

When air quality improves, residents should air out their homes to reduce indoor air pollution, Hodina said. They can also clean their homes by damp mopping or dusting and vacuuming, he said.