Are you Smelling Plastic? Millions are in the path of toxic smoke plumes -
Smoke from wildfires is composed of #Volatile #Organic #Compounds (VOCs) that, when high up in the atmosphere, interact with #UV radiation to create #benzene and #formaldehyde.
These are #toxic air pollutants that can have very adverse effects on human and animal health – and they happen to #smell like #burning #plastic
https://www.theweathernetwork.com/en/news/weather/severe/smelling-plastic-millions-are-in-the-path-of-toxic-smoke-plumes
Ultraviolet radiation from the Sun does more than just give us sunburns. It can interact with compounds already in the atmosphere to create new compounds.
For example, ozone at the surface level (or smog as it’s commonly called) is caused by air pollutants such as NOx gases being broken up by UV radiation. The extra oxygen molecule then joins up with the free oxygen (O2) in the atmosphere to create ozone (O3).
This is also why smog is most common in large urban populations just after rush hours on sunny days – the level of air pollution from vehicle exhaust is highest and the sun is out to facilitate the UV interaction.