{"id":20468,"date":"2025-01-20T14:20:59","date_gmt":"2025-01-20T15:20:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=20468"},"modified":"2025-01-20T15:29:24","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20T15:29:24","slug":"airborne-lead-and-chlorine-levels-soared-as-l-a-wildfires-raged","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=20468","title":{"rendered":"Airborne Lead and Chlorine Levels Soared as L.A. Wildfires Raged"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At the height of the Los Angeles County wildfires, atmospheric concentrations of lead, a neurotoxin, reached 100 times average levels even miles from the flames, according to early detailed measurements obtained by The New York Times. Levels of chlorine, which is also toxic at low concentrations, reached 40 times the average.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The spiking levels underscore the added danger from wildfires when cars, homes, and other structures burn, researchers said. Lead is often present in paint and pipes used in older homes, while chlorine and other chemicals are generated when plastic melts or combusts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"InteractiveBlock-1\">\n<section data-testid=\"inline-interactive\" id=\"datawrapper_pCoXC\" data-id=\"100000009936593\" data-source-id=\"100000009936593\" class=\"interactive-content interactive-size-scoop css-174j8de\">\n<header id=\"interactive-header\" class=\"css-obecq5 interactive-header\">\n<h2 id=\"interactive-headline\" class=\"css-4hk76s interactive-headline\">Lead in L.A.\u2019s air<\/h2>\n<p data-testid=\"leadin\" id=\"interactive-leadin\" class=\"css-1qa9noj interactive-leadin\">Levels exceeded Environmental Protection Agency limits<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"css-17ih8de interactive-body\" data-sourceid=\"100000009936593\" id=\"embed-id-100000009936593\">\n<\/div>\n<footer id=\"interactive-footer\" class=\"css-nt2azn interactive-footer\">\n<p data-testid=\"note\" id=\"interactive-notes\" class=\"css-cudxsp interactive-notes\">Measurements taken in Pico Rivera, California, roughly 11 miles south of the Eaton Fire.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"source\" id=\"interactive-source\" class=\"css-cudxsp interactive-source\">Source: Nga Lee Ng, ASCENT, Georgia Institute of Technology<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"credit\" id=\"interactive-credit\" class=\"css-cudxsp interactive-credit\">By The New York Times<\/p>\n<\/footer>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">These fires were \u201ca wake-up call,\u201d said Haroula Baliaka, a Ph.D. candidate in atmospheric chemistry at the California Institute of Technology, who is part of a new nationwide effort to monitor airborne chemicals in real time. They are \u201cno longer just about burning trees and grass,\u201d she said. \u201cThey are urban wildfires, fueled by the very materials that make up our homes and cities.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-3\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As climate change, combined with new development, increases the chances that wildfires strike more densely populated parts of the world, concerns over toxic releases are likely to grow.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For Los Angeles, the toxic smoke means that the eventual death toll from the fires, as well as longer-term health burdens, is likely to grow. Breathing in lead can damage the brain and nervous system, particularly in children. Levels of lead in the air seen during the fires were more than three times the safety limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency. Chlorine can damage the lungs and respiratory tract.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Overall, high levels of particle pollution in wildfire smoke have been linked to increased risk of <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4740122\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">cardiovascular<\/a> and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4740125\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">respiratory<\/a> illnesses and death.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"RelatedLinksBlock-5\">\n<div data-testid=\"lazy-loader\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A study published last year found that wildfire smoke may have killed <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/sciadv.adl1252\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">as many as 12,000 Californians<\/a> prematurely in 2018, when the Camp fire burned the town of Paradise and other communities in Northern California. Wildfire smoke is starting to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-023-06522-6\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">erode the world\u2019s progress<\/a> in cleaning up pollution from tailpipes and smokestacks, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/10\/climate\/california-fires-climate-change-disasters.html\" title>as climate change supercharges fires<\/a>, scientists have said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-7\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The latest measurements come from a new federally funded, national monitoring network called <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/ascent.research.gatech.edu\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">ASCENT<\/a>, begun last year to measure a wide range of air pollutants in real time. The readings from the Los Angeles area fires were captured at the network\u2019s monitoring station in Pico Rivera, several miles from the active fires.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Wildfires are becoming a bigger focus for scientists that study air pollution, said Nga Lee Ng, who also uses the given name Sally, an atmospheric scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and network\u2019s principal investigator. The urban nature of many of these fires means the smoke \u201cis going to have very different components, a lot more toxic particles,\u201d Professor Ng said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At the height of the Los Angeles County wildfires, atmospheric concentrations of lead, a neurotoxin, reached 100 times average levels even miles from the flames, according to early detailed measurements obtained by The New York Times. Levels of chlorine, which is also toxic at low concentrations, reached 40 times the average.The spiking levels underscore the added danger from wildfires when cars, homes, and other structures burn, researchers said. Lead is often present in paint and pipes used in older homes, while chlorine and other chemicals are generated when plastic melts or combusts.Lead in L.A.\u2019s airLevels exceeded Environmental Protection Agency limits<\/p>\n<p>Measurements taken in Pico Rivera, California, roughly 11 miles south of the Eaton Fire.Source: Nga Lee Ng, ASCENT, Georgia Institute of TechnologyBy The New York TimesThese fires were \u201ca wake-up call,\u201d said Haroula Baliaka, a Ph.D. candidate in atmospheric chemistry at the California Institute of Technology, who is part of a new nationwide effort to monitor airborne chemicals in real time. They are \u201cno longer just about burning trees and grass,\u201d she said. \u201cThey are urban wildfires, fueled by the very materials that make up our homes and cities.\u201dAs climate change, combined with new development, increases the chances that wildfires strike more densely populated parts of the world, concerns over toxic releases are likely to grow.For Los Angeles, the toxic smoke means that the eventual death toll from the fires, as well as longer-term health burdens, is likely to grow. Breathing in lead can damage the brain and nervous system, particularly in children. Levels of lead in the air seen during the fires were more than three times the safety limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency. Chlorine can damage the lungs and respiratory tract.Overall, high levels of particle pollution in wildfire smoke have been linked to increased risk of cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses and death.A study published last year found that wildfire smoke may have killed as many as 12,000 Californians prematurely in 2018, when the Camp fire burned the town of Paradise and other communities in Northern California. Wildfire smoke is starting to erode the world\u2019s progress in cleaning up pollution from tailpipes and smokestacks, as climate change supercharges fires, scientists have said.The latest measurements come from a new federally funded, national monitoring network called ASCENT, begun last year to measure a wide range of air pollutants in real time. The readings from the Los Angeles area fires were captured at the network\u2019s monitoring station in Pico Rivera, several miles from the active fires.Wildfires are becoming a bigger focus for scientists that study air pollution, said Nga Lee Ng, who also uses the given name Sally, an atmospheric scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and network\u2019s principal investigator. The urban nature of many of these fires means the smoke \u201cis going to have very different components, a lot more toxic particles,\u201d Professor Ng said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20470,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20468"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20471,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20468\/revisions\/20471"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}