MSGID: 1:317/3 64a7953e   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Weeks later, potentially harmful chemicals lingered in homes affected by   
   Marshall Fire    
      
     Date:   
         July 6, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Colorado at Boulder   
     Summary:   
         In the wake of Colorado's devastating Marshall Fire, a team of   
         chemists and engineers undertook a first-of-its-kind study to   
         explore homes that survived the blaze. Their results reveal   
         the potential health hazards that wildfires can leave behind   
         in buildings.   
      
      
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   Potentially harmful chemicals generated by the Marshall Fire in late 2021   
   may have lingered inside some Boulder County homes for weeks after the   
   disaster - - hiding in small particles of dust that residents could have   
   mixed back into the air when they vacuumed carpets or turned on fans,   
   according to recent research.   
      
   The study, led by researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder,   
   is the latest to look at the long-lasting impacts of this devastating   
   event. The Marshall Fire ignited in the morning on Dec. 30, 2021, and   
   within hours destroyed more than 1,000 homes and buildings.   
      
   Engineers and chemists at CU Boulder wanted to take a particularly close   
   look at those homes that survived the blaze but still faced the towering   
   walls of smoke.   
      
   Through late January and early February 2022, the scientists collected   
   meticulous samples of particles of dust in the air and on surfaces   
   in a sample of homes from the fire zone. They discovered that burning   
   from the blaze may have left a mark on these buildings. Dust samples,   
   for example, revealed elevated concentrations of potentially harmful   
   materials like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which the   
   Environmental Protection Agency considers carcinogens.   
      
   The team can't be sure what risk, if any, the particles posed to the   
   health of people living in these neighborhoods. But the researchers hope   
   that their results could one day help the survivors of future wildfires   
   make informed decisions about when they can move back into their homes.   
      
   "This is going to happen again, unfortunately," said Jonathan Silberstein,   
   a doctoral student in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical   
   Engineering at CU Boulder. "Maybe not in Boulder, but somewhere in the   
   United States. We hope this research will help inform best practices   
   for recovering after the next fire."  The study is one of several that   
   CU Boulder researchers carried out across Boulder County in the wake   
   of the disaster. The same team, for example, is also studying the toxic   
   gases that may have seeped into homes from the fire to build out a more   
   complete picture of the possible health risks.   
      
   "This was a really tragic event, but it was rewarding to have the   
   opportunity to quickly address the concerns of the community many of us   
   live in," said Michael Hannigan, co-author of the study and a professor   
   of mechanical engineering. "The community members couldn't have been more   
   receptive, helpful and gracious."  Returning home Christine Wiedinmyer is   
   one of those community members. She's also a co-author of the new study.   
      
   On Dec. 30, 2021, the CU Boulder air quality scientist was working   
   from the basement of her home in the Rock Creek area of Boulder County   
   when she started receiving texts from her friends: Authorities had just   
   evacuated the Costco in the nearby town of Superior. Wiedinmyer and her   
   teenage son left not long after, grabbing their laptops, some important   
   documents and a few items of clothing.   
      
   "I really didn't appreciate the extent of the fire until I got to   
   my brother's house in Denver, and I saw the news," said Wiedinmyer,   
   associate director of science for the Cooperative Institute for Research   
   in Environmental Sciences (CIRES). "I thought: We're not going back   
   today."  When she did return to her home on New Year's Eve, Wiedinmyer   
   found it still standing. But the flames, which had spread to within a   
   few hundred yards from her house, had left a fingerprint on the structure.   
      
   "It smelled like the day after a campfire," she said. "Below the doors   
   and windowsills, you could see this black dust."  At the same time,   
   Wiedinmyer's neighbors came to her with questions she couldn't answer:   
   Was it safe for them to move back home? What kind of cleaning should   
   they do?  An eye on dust To begin to answer those questions, Wiedinmyer   
   joined a dream team of scientists from across CU Boulder. They included   
   Hannigan; Marina Vance, assistant professor of mechanical engineering;   
   Joost de Gouw, a chemist and professor at CIRES; and Colleen Reid,   
   assistant professor of geography.   
      
   In a first-of-its-kind study, the team visited several homes in the burn   
   area, a region spanning more than 6,000 acres in Superior, Louisville   
   and unincorporated Boulder County -- then picked four houses to study   
   in-depth for this study, including Wiedinmyer's. The team scraped dust   
   from windowsills and installed monitors to track particles in the air   
   on a minute-by-minute basis.   
      
   The group's results revealed what may be the most detailed story to date   
   of what happens to homes that survive this kind of fire.   
      
   The floating particles of ash produced by the fire seemed to settle out of   
   the air in these houses within a day or two. But the dust that Wiedinmyer   
   had seen on her windowsills lingered, and didn't stay put. In February,   
   the researchers took measurements as a six-person cleaning crew entered   
   one of the homes to vacuum and mop. The concentrations of particles in   
   the air nearly doubled during that time. Overnight in the same house,   
   the team saw airborne particles spike about once every 20 minutes --   
   likely due to the home's HVAC system switching on and off.   
      
   Silberstein noted that the concentrations of contaminants like PAHs and   
   some heavy metals were higher in those samples of dust that in Boulder   
   County homes outside of the burn zone. But levels weren't above the   
   typical range for many urban areas in the U.S.   
      
   "Human activity, like cleaning, seemed to cause resuspension," Silberstein   
   said. "If there are compounds in that dust that are potentially bad   
   for human health, that's when you might see the greatest health risks."   
   Wear a mask Wiedinmyer noted that the team's results represent just the   
   first step in understanding how disasters like the Marshall Fire may   
   affect nearby homes.   
      
   "I found it really frustrating because I couldn't tell my neighbors   
   what to do," Wiedinmyer said. "I couldn't tell them if it safe to move   
   back in, only what I had done in my own house."  For her part, the   
   scientist cleaned her floors and windowsills and aired out her home for   
   a week. She and her family didn't move back in until the burning smell   
   had gone away. Silberstein noted that anyone cleaning up a house after   
   a fire should be diligent about wearing a mask to avoid breathing in   
   potentially harmful dust.   
      
   He appreciated the chance to see his scientific knowledge help his   
   community in a time of need.   
      
   "Often, our kind of research can feel removed from people's everyday   
   lives," Silberstein said. "But this project felt like we were making a   
   tangible difference."   
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   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Jonathan M. Silberstein, Liora E. Mael, Caroline R. Frischmon,   
      Emma S.   
      
         Rieves, Evan R. Coffey, Trupti Das, William Dresser, Avery   
         C. Hatch, Jyotishree Nath, Helena O. Pliszka, Colleen E. Reid,   
         Marina E. Vance, Christine Wiedinmyer, Joost A. De Gouw, Michael   
         P. Hannigan. Residual impacts of a wildland urban interface   
         fire on urban particulate matter and dust: a study from the   
         Marshall Fire. Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, 2023; DOI:   
         10.1007/s11869-023-01376-3   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230706124555.htm   
      
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