Catoblepas comments on Smoke from LA fires exposed millions of people to high levels of toxic heavy metals, study says

Smoke from LA fires exposed millions of people to high levels of toxic heavy metals, study says (apnews.com)

submitted 2 weeks ago by TacoButtPlug@sh.itjust.works to c/los_angeles@infosec.pub

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — At the height of the Los Angeles fires in 2025, millions of residents were exposed in a 24-hour period to toxic lead levels from smoke that were 80 times higher than the typical background level, according to a new study.

Researchers from the California Institute of Technology compared the chemical composition of smoke from the Eaton Fire with that of a wildfire and found that the urban plume had more lead, arsenic and halogens (which include chlorine and bromine) linked to burning vehicles, building materials and electronics.

“The main, key finding is really that wildfire smoke is very different fundamentally from the urban smoke,” said Nga Lee “Sally” Ng, an author of the study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances. With the new technology they used to measure what was in the smoke, they were able to “actually see the very detailed component of these particles that we are breathing.”

[–] Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 weeks ago

For the Eaton/Palisades fires I taped up the gaps in the door and blasted air purifiers for weeks afterwards, I was so worried about it. I didn’t leave the house without a mask on until it rained again, I think like a month or two? Feels like a pretty good call now. I still hate that the air purifiers weren’t going full blast when it got really bad since it was like 1 am and I was already asleep.

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