RAPID: Investigation of Nano-scale Metals in Ash from the Marshall Fire, Colorado

野火正变得越来越普遍，并正在从荒野地区蔓延到荒地和城市的交界处，包括人口稠密的郊区。这些火灾最具破坏性的影响是显而易见的：房屋、社区，有时甚至生命的损失。然而，除了物理破坏之外，关于建筑焚烧对环境影响的一个悬而未决的问题是，火灾是否会从家庭和结构部件中释放出金属颗粒。从管道到电子产品，再到油漆和颜料，金属无所不在。铅、铜、锌、镉等金属对环境和人类都是有毒的。一旦释放，这些最小的金属颗粒可以被风事件输送，随后被雨和雪沉积在不同的环境中。2021年12月31日发生在科罗拉多州博尔德县的马歇尔大火导致1000多座建筑被烧毁，对周围环境中金属释放的影响尚不清楚。快速分析焚烧结构物中的灰烬以确定金属颗粒的存在是一个迫切需要关注的问题。为了实现这一目标，科罗拉多矿业学院的研究团队正在使用对特定金属敏感的最先进的颗粒分析技术来确定火山灰样本中是否存在金属颗粒。如果发现，进一步的分析将确定浓度是否达到显著水平，以及人类是否面临毒理影响的风险。通过用模拟生物流体浸出火山灰，该项目将评估金属被人类肺部吸收的潜力。该项目将提供必要的信息，以增加对火灾衍生金属的理解，同时通过应用于复杂的自然系统来进一步提高我们的分析能力。除了该项目的科学目标外，社区宣传和教育也是高度优先的。社区成员将被邀请参与样本收集和数据分析。研究小组寻求举办虚拟和课堂论坛，涉及博尔德社区，从高中到普通人群中的其他人。这些演讲的目的是教育社区了解研究结果，分享纳米粒子对健康的影响，并为学生提供动手实验。随着气候变化导致环境沙漠化，野火正变得更加普遍和毁灭性。野火正在从荒野地区蔓延到荒地和城市的交界处，包括人口稠密的郊区。科罗拉多州博尔德县的马歇尔大火最近烧毁了1000多座房屋和许多其他建筑。这场大火产生的灰烬和烟雾对环境和人类健康的危害可能比野地大火产生的物质更大。具体地说，焚烧的人为材料可能会导致在产生的灰尘/烟尘中存在含有金属的纳米颗粒(直径100纳米)。未来12个月的项目目标是确定灰烬和烟尘中纳米颗粒形式存在的金属(铜、镉、汞、铅、锌等)的数量。研究小组将从受马歇尔大火影响的地区收集样本，重点是从被烧毁的家园内部、附近的土壤和位于被烧毁地区顺风向的地表水中采集灰烬。在非城市上风向地点收集的样本将作为对照。这个快速项目将利用单颗粒电感耦合等离子体质谱仪的新技术来检测和定量存在于去离子水悬浮液中的纳米颗粒。研究小组将通过使用模拟肺液进行单颗粒电感耦合等离子体质谱分析来研究颗粒大小对金属生物可及性的影响，作为溶解实验的一部分。对焚烧材料的及时分析将促进对火灾后残骸中金属形态的了解，并可能为负责任的补救工作提供信息，从而对人类健康和环境造成影响。除了该项目的科学目标外，社区宣传和教育也是高度优先的。通过“公民科学方法”，社区成员将被邀请参与样本采集，并将结果反馈给参与的房主。研究小组将举行虚拟和课堂论坛，涉及博尔德社区，从高中到普通人群中的其他人。这些演讲将旨在教育社区关于研究的发现，分享纳米粒子对健康的影响，并为学生提供动手实验。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Wildfires are becoming more prevalent and are expanding out of wilderness areas and into the wildland-urban interface, including densely packed suburbs. The most devastating effects of these fires are apparent: the loss of homes, communities, and sometimes lives. However, beyond the physical destruction, one of the unanswered questions about the environmental impact of structure burning is whether fire liberates metal particles from household and structural components. Metals are found in everything from pipes to electronics to paints and pigments. Metals such as lead, copper, zinc, cadmium, and others can be toxic to the environment and humans. Once released, the smallest of these metal particles can be transported by wind events with subsequent deposition by rain and snow throughout different environments. The December 31st 2021 Marshall Fire in Boulder County, Colorado resulted in over 1000 structures burned, with as yet unknown impacts on metal release to the surrounding environment. It is of pressing concern to rapidly analyze ash from burned structures for the presence of metal particles. In order to accomplish this, the research team at Colorado School of Mines is employing state of the art particle analysis techniques that are sensitive to specific metals to determine if metal particles are present in ash samples. If found, further analysis will determine if the concentrations are at significant levels, and if humans are at risk of toxicological effects. By leaching the ash with simulated biological fluids, the project will assess the potential for metals to be absorbed by human lungs. This project will provide essential information to increase understanding of fire-derived metals while furthering our analytical capabilities via application to complex natural systems. Beyond the scientific goals of this project, community outreach and education are of high priority. Community members will be invited to participate in sample gathering and data analysis. The research team seeks to hold virtual and classroom forums involving the Boulder community, from the high school level to others within the general populous. These presentations will be aimed at educating the community on the findings of the research, sharing the health impacts of nanoscale particles, and providing hands on experiments for students.As climate change induces desertification of the environment, wildfires are becoming more prevalent and more devastating. Wildfires are expanding out of wilderness areas and into the wildland-urban interface, including densely packed suburbs. The Marshall Fire in Boulder County, Colorado recently burned over 1,000 homes and many other structures. The ash and smoke generated from this fire has the potential to be more harmful to both the environment and human health than materials generated from wildland fires. Specifically, the anthropogenic materials burned may lead to the presence of metal-containing nanoparticles (diameter 100 nm) in the resulting ash/soot. The project goal over the next 12 months is to determine the amount of metal (Cu, Cd, Hg, Pb, Zn among others) present in the nanoparticle form in ash and soot. The research team will collect samples from the area impacted by the Marshall fire, focusing on ash from within burned homesites, nearby soils, and surface waters located downwind of the burned area. Samples collected in non-urban, upwind sites will act as controls. This RAPID project will utilize the novel technique of single particle ICP-MS to detect and quantify the nanoparticles present in deionized water suspensions. The research team will investigate the effects of particle size on metal bioaccessibility by performing single particle ICP-MS analysis as part of dissolution experiments using simulated lung fluids. Timely analysis of the burned materials will advance knowledge of metal speciation in post-fire debris and may inform a responsible remediation effort with respect to human health and environmental impact. Beyond the scientific goals of this project, community outreach and education are of high priority. Through a “citizen science approach”, community members will be invited to participate in sample gathering, with results being communicated back to the participating homeowners. The research team will hold virtual and classroom forums involving the Boulder community, from the high school level to others within the general populous. These presentations will be aimed at educating the community on the findings of the research, sharing the health impacts of nanoscale particles, and providing hands on experiments for students.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.