It’s easy to see the immediate health hazards of wildfire smoke as people struggle to breathe through a sooty haze.
But a new study finds that harmful chemicals found in wildfire smoke can linger in a person’s home for weeks after the immediate threat has passed, posing a continuing health threat. The chemicals—compounds called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)—are highly toxic and can be found in household air filters, glass surfaces and cotton cloth more than a month later, researchers report.
“They are linked to numerous long-term detrimental health outcomes, such as lung disease, cancer, and possible pregnancy complications,” according to researcher Elliott Gall, an associate professor of mechanical and materials engineering at Portland State University in Oregon.
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“If these compounds are depositing or sticking onto surfaces, there are different routes of exposure people should be aware of,” Gall added in a university news release. There’s lots of good advice out there on what to do during a wildfire, researchers noted: close windows and doors, run an air purifier, and wear a mask.But there’s not much to guide people on how to best clean up afterward, researchers said. For this study, Gall and his team looked at how PAHs stuck to glass, cotton and air filters during a four-month span.
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They found it took 37 days for PAHs to decrease by 74% for air filters, 81% for cotton and 88% for glass, potentially harming the health of a home’s inhabitants by prolonging their exposure to the chemicals. However, targeted cleaning proved effective in quickly ridding a home of PAHs that linger long after a wildfire has passed, the researchers said. Laundering cotton materials just once after smoke exposure lowered PAHs by 80%, and using commercial glass cleaners on windows or cups reduced PAH levels between 60% and 70%.
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Air filters should simply be replaced since they can’t be cleaned, Gall added. Future studies will focus on other materials and surfaces common in homes, as well as specific cleaning techniques and household cleaning solutions available to average folks, researchers said.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) factsheet
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a class of chemicals that occur naturally in coal, crude oil, and gasoline. They result from burning coal, oil, gas, wood, garbage, and tobacco. PAHs can bind to or form small particles in the air. High heat when cooking meat and other foods will form PAHs. Naphthalene is a man-made PAH used in the United States to make other chemicals and mothballs. Cigarette smoke contains many PAHs.
PAH exposure in People
Exposure to PAHs can occur by:
- Breathing air contains
- Motor vehicle exhaust
- Cigarette smoke
- Wood smoke
- Fumes from asphalt roads
- Consuming grilled or charred meats or foods
- Eating foods on which PAH particles have settled from the air
- In some cases, it passes through the skin.
After PAHs enter a person, the body converts PAHs into breakdown products called metabolites. The metabolites pass out of the body in the urine and feces.
How do PAHs affect people’s health?
Human health effects from indirect exposure to low levels of PAHs are unknown. Large amounts of naphthalene in the air can irritate the eyes and breathing passages. Occupational skin exposure to liquid naphthalene and breathing its vapors may be harmful. Workers have become sick with blood and liver problems from large amounts of exposure. Scientists consider several of the PAHs and some specific mixtures to be cancer-causing chemicals.
Levels of PAH metabolites in the U.S. population
CDC scientists measured ten different PAH metabolites in the urine of 2,504 or more participants aged six years and older. These were individuals who took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) during 2003–2004. By measuring PAH metabolites in urine, scientists can estimate the amounts of PAHs that have entered people’s bodies.
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Disclaimer: The opinions and suggestions expressed in this article are solely those of the individual analysts. These are not the opinions of HNN. For more, please consult with your doctor
