It's Time to Upgrade. (Again.)

Five years ago, I never thought I’d be shopping for gas masks to protect my family from industrial accidents on top of everything else.

And yet, here we are.

We live in a world where it’s becoming dangerous just to breathe. The threats we face now include industrial accidents like the one that recently happened in Atlanta, exposing hundreds of thousands to chlorine gas. An N95 mask is no longer enough. Most of us will continue wearing those as a default choice, but now it’s time to think about adding a backup respirator with vapor cartridges. If you’re going with a half-face respirator, add safety goggles with a snug fit.

For perspective, chlorine gas was a weapon used in WWI. Winds are now spreading that massive chemical cloud all over the metro region, prompting shelter-in-place warnings throughout the city and surrounding suburbs. It’s not an exaggeration to say that residents of the Atlanta area, where I grew up, are now essentially under a chemical attack, thanks to corporate deregulation and mismanagement. Despite official assurances, meteorologists continue to point out that the air across the city remains unsafe.

It’s all coming to a city near you.