A massive wall of dust enshrouded the city of Chicago recently, forcing a ground stop at the Midwestern hub’s airports and stunning the city’s more than 2.6 million residents.
But, while sudden dust storms can be dangerous, the lesser known harms lie in the windswept particles themselves — with the Chicago dust storm likely to contain lead, farm chemicals and particles that aggravate respiratory conditions such as asthma. “I’m sure people will have some health issues after it,” said Karin Ardon-Dryer, an assistant professor at Texas Tech University, said of Saturday’s event.
