{"680641":{"#nid":"680641","#data":{"type":"news","title":"LA Fires Trigger Temporary Spike in Airborne Lead Levels","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs the Los Angeles fires quickly spread starting Jan. 7, with wind gusts approaching 100 mph, scientists observed a 110-fold rise in airborne lead levels. This spike had receded by Jan. 11.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe fires enabled the first real-time data on airborne lead, thanks to a pioneering air quality measurement network known as Atmospheric Science and Chemistry (ASCENT), a nationwide initiative funded by the National Science Foundation, operating in 12 sites across the U.S. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ascent.research.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EASCENT\u003C\/a\u003E measured tiny particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM2.5) \u2014 small enough to enter the lungs and bloodstream. Unlike typical wildfires that burn natural materials such as grass and trees, the Eaton Canyon and Palisades fires burned through infrastructures like homes, including painted surfaces, pipes, vehicles, plastics, and electronic equipment. This raised concerns about the toxicity of these particles in the air, especially since many of the buildings were constructed before 1978, when lead paint was still commonly used.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELead is a toxic air contaminant that poses significant health risks, particularly for children, who are more vulnerable to its neurodevelopmental effects. While chronic lead exposure is well-documented, the effects of short-term spikes, like those recorded during these fires, are less understood.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur work through ASCENT,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/directory\/person\/nga-lee-sally-ng\u0022\u003ESally Ng\u003C\/a\u003E, Georgia Tech\u2019s Love Family Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and the network\u2019s principal investigator, \u201chas provided us with new insights into the air we breathe, with unprecedented levels of detail and time resolution. Beyond the mass concentration of PM2.5 that is typically measured, we are now able to detect a wide range of chemical components in the aerosols in real time, to better understand and evaluate to what extent one is exposed to harmful pollutants.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInvestigators used several instruments to obtain hourly measurements at the ASCENT monitoring site in Pico Rivera, approximately 14 miles south of the Eaton Canyon fire, to assess atmospheric lead during the wildfires.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur findings showcased the importance of having real-time measurements of the chemical species that comprise particulate matter,\u201d said California Institute of Technology Ph.D. candidate in atmospheric chemistry and ASPIRE researcher Haroula Baliaka. \u201cDuring the LA fires, we provided the public with timely information about what they were breathing and how air quality evolved in the days that followed.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis research has been published in the CDC\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/mmwr\/volumes\/74\/wr\/mm7405a4.htm?s_cid=mm7405a4_w\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EMorbidity and Mortality Weekly Report\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAs the Los Angeles fires quickly spread starting Jan. 7 and wind gusts approached 100 mph, scientists observed a 110-fold rise in airborne lead levels. This spike had receded by Jan. 11.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The fires enabled the first real-time data on airborne lead, thanks to a pioneering air quality measurement network."}],"uid":"36573","created_gmt":"2025-02-20 19:46:27","changed_gmt":"2025-02-24 16:37:13","author":"aprendiville3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-02-20T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2025-02-20T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"676361":{"id":"676361","type":"image","title":"The Atmospheric Science and Chemistry mEasurement NeTwork (ASCENT) site collects real-time data during the Los Angeles wildfires. Courtesy: Haroula Baliaka","body":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Atmospheric Science and Chemistry mEasurement NeTwork (ASCENT) site collects real-time data during the Los Angeles wildfires. Courtesy: Haroula Baliaka\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1740151674","gmt_created":"2025-02-21 15:27:54","changed":"1740152990","gmt_changed":"2025-02-21 15:49:50","alt":"The Atmospheric Science and Chemistry mEasurement NeTwork (ASCENT) site collects real-time data during the Los Angeles wildfires. Courtesy: Haroula Baliaka","file":{"fid":"260134","name":"WhatsApp-Image-2025-02-06-at-08.56.50.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/02\/21\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-02-06-at-08.56.50.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/02\/21\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-02-06-at-08.56.50.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":146018,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/02\/21\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-02-06-at-08.56.50.jpeg?itok=BFTgfKQ1"}},"676360":{"id":"676360","type":"image","title":"Investigators used measurements recorded hourly at the ASCENT monitoring site in Pico Rivera, approximately 14 miles south of the Eaton Canyon fire, to assess atmospheric lead during the Eaton Canyon and Palisades fires. Courtesy: Haroula Baliaka","body":"\u003Cp\u003EInvestigators used measurements recorded hourly at the ASCENT monitoring site in Pico Rivera, approximately 14 miles south of the Eaton Canyon fire, to assess atmospheric lead during the Eaton Canyon and Palisades fires. Courtesy: Haroula Baliaka\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1740151574","gmt_created":"2025-02-21 15:26:14","changed":"1740151574","gmt_changed":"2025-02-21 15:26:14","alt":"Investigators used measurements recorded hourly at the ASCENT monitoring site in Pico Rivera, approximately 14 miles south of the Eaton Canyon fire, to assess atmospheric lead during the Eaton Canyon and Palisades fires. Courtesy: Haroula Baliaka","file":{"fid":"260133","name":"403755238_885266183265183_29513148794895043_n--1-.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/02\/21\/403755238_885266183265183_29513148794895043_n--1-.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/02\/21\/403755238_885266183265183_29513148794895043_n--1-.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":138391,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/02\/21\/403755238_885266183265183_29513148794895043_n--1-.jpg?itok=tcYL7Vsk"}},"676362":{"id":"676362","type":"image","title":"The ASCENT facility in Pico Rivera is equipped with a range of aerosol measurement instruments, including the Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) for non-refractory aerosols, Xact for detecting trace metals, Aethalometer for assessing black\/brown c","body":"\u003Cp\u003EThe ASCENT facility in Pico Rivera is equipped with a range of aerosol measurement instruments, including the Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) for non-refractory aerosols, Xact for detecting trace metals, Aethalometer for assessing black\/brown carbon, and the Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) to analyze aerosol size distribution and concentration. Courtesy: Haroula Baliaka\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1740151710","gmt_created":"2025-02-21 15:28:30","changed":"1740151710","gmt_changed":"2025-02-21 15:28:30","alt":"The ASCENT facility in Pico Rivera is equipped with a range of aerosol measurement instruments, including the Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) for non-refractory aerosols, Xact for detecting trace metals, Aethalometer for assessing black\/brown carbon, and the Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) to analyze aerosol size distribution and concentration. Courtesy: Haroula Baliaka","file":{"fid":"260135","name":"WhatsApp-Image-2025-01-26-at-17.50.04.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/02\/21\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-01-26-at-17.50.04.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/02\/21\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-01-26-at-17.50.04.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":205519,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/02\/21\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-01-26-at-17.50.04.jpeg?itok=rH_i0D2e"}}},"media_ids":["676361","676360","676362"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"364801","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS)"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"142","name":"City Planning, Transportation, and Urban Growth"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto: aprendiville@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAngela Barajas Prendiville\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDirector, Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}