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

RAPID：科罗拉多州马歇尔大火灰烬中纳米级金属的调查

• 批准号: 2217526
• 负责人: James Ranville
• 金额: $ 8.55万
• 依托单位: Colorado School of Mines
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-04-01 至 2024-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2217526&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RAPID; Investigation; Nano; scale; Metals

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.

野火变得越来越普遍，并且正在从荒野地区和野生世界的界面扩展，包括无处不在的郊区。这些火灾最具破坏性的影响是显而易见的：失去房屋，社区，有时甚至是生命。但是，除了物理破坏之外，关于结构燃烧的环境影响的未解决问题之一是火是否将金属颗粒从家庭和结构组件中解放出来。从管道到电子设备再到油漆和颜料，都可以找到金属。铅，铜，锌，镉等金属可能对环境和人类有毒。一旦释放，这些金属颗粒中最小的颗粒可以通过风事件来运输，随后在不同环境中被雨水和雪沉积。 2021年12月31日在科罗拉多州博尔德县的马歇尔大火导致1000多个结构燃烧，这引起了人们的关注，以快速分析燃烧结构中的灰分，以了解金属颗粒的存在。为了实现这一目标，科罗拉多州矿业学院的研究团队正在采用对特定金属敏感的最先进的粒子分析技术，以确定灰分样品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处于显着水平，以及人类是否有毒理学作用的风险。通过模拟生物学效应，该项目将评估金属被人肺吸收的潜力。该项目将提供重要的信息，以增加对火衍生金属的了解，同时通过应用于复杂的自然系统来推动我们的分析能力。除了该项目的科学目标之外，社区外展和教育是当务之急。将邀请社区成员参加样本收集和数据分析。研究小组试图举办涉及巨石社区的虚拟和课堂论坛，从高中到人口众多的其他人。这些演讲将旨在教育社区有关研究结果，分享纳米级颗粒的健康影响，并为学生提供实验的健康影响。由于气候变化会导致环境的荒漠化，野火变得越来越普遍，更具毁灭性。野火从荒野地区扩展到野生世界的界面，包括无处不在的郊区。科罗拉多州博尔德县的马歇尔大火最近烧毁了1000多个房屋和许多其他建筑物。与荒地大火产生的材料相比，这场火灾产生的灰烬和烟雾可能对环境和人类健康更加有害。具体而言，燃烧的人为材料可能导致在产生的灰分/烟灰中存在含金属的纳米颗粒（直径100 nm）。在接下来的12个月中，项目目标是确定纳米颗粒形式中灰分和烟灰中存在的金属量（Cu，CD，Hg，Pb，Zn等）。研究小组将从马歇尔大火影响的区域收集样品，重点是烧毁的房屋内，靠近土壤和位于烧毁区域下方的地表水。在非城市中收集的样品将充当控制。这个快速的项目将利用单个粒子ICP-MS的新技术来检测和量化去离子水悬浮液中存在的纳米颗粒。研究团队将通过使用模拟的肺液进行单个粒子ICP-MS分析来研究粒径对金属生物恢复性的影响。及时对燃烧材料的分析将提高对火后碎片金属规格的了解，并可能会为人类健康和环境影响提供负责任的补救工作。除了该项目的科学目标之外，社区外展和教育是当务之急。通过“公民科学方法”，将邀请社区成员参加样本收集，结果将与参与的房主传达。研究团队将举办涉及博尔德社区的虚拟和教室论坛，从高中层面到人口普遍的其他人。这些演讲将旨在教育社区有关研究结果，分享纳米级颗粒的健康影响，并为学生提供实验。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛影响的审查标准来评估的珍贵支持。