If you track hydrogen sulfide levels on the City of Kalamazoo’s website, it may be useful to know that the particulates in wildfire smoke can make the concentrations of the gas look higher than they really are.
In an email, Kalamazoo's Public Services department told WMUK that hydrogen sulfide levels can appear to spike on smoky days, such as the ones the city had last week. The department said the effect is temporary and won’t skew long-term data on hydrogen sulfide in Kalamazoo.
Air quality monitors track emissions of the gas around the city’s water treatment plant and the Graphic Packaging paper plant. They were installed after North Side and East Side residents complained of intense rotten-egg odors in their neighborhoods and unexplained health problems.
A state health department report released in May found that levels of hydrogen sulfide in those neighborhoods levels were high enough to cause headaches, nausea, and eye and nasal irritation.
