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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FULL STORY ========================================================================== 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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provided by University_of_Colorado_at_Boulder. Original written by Daniel Strain. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== 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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