RAPID: Sustained Air Quality Impacts of the Marshall Fire in Boulder County

这个快速项目将调查与最近科罗拉多的马歇尔火灾有关的室内空气污染，该火灾于2021年12月30日开始发生。大火产生的烟雾渗透到被烧毁地区周围未受损的房屋中，留下了灰烬和烟尘，明显影响了室内空气质量。从2022年1月8日开始，该地区的多个家庭内部和周围正在进行挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）和颗粒物（PM）的测量。该RAPID项目将为继续进行这些测量提供支持，以评估火灾对空气质量的持续影响，并对结果进行分析和介绍。该项目将解决以下问题：（i）马歇尔火灾后受烟雾影响的房屋内的室内空气成分是什么？(ii)哪些物理过程控制着受烟雾影响的房屋中污染物的持续释放？(iii)留在家中的受污染的灰烬和煤烟的成分是什么？(iv)燃烧区的空气污染物持续排放情况如何？(v)在马歇尔火灾期间和之后，人们暴露在什么水平的PM中？当地社区和卫生部门对这些信息感兴趣。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This RAPID project will investigate indoor air pollution associated with the recent Marshall Fire in Colorado, that started as a grass fire on December 30, 2021. Smoke from the fire infiltrated into undamaged homes surrounding the burnt areas and left ash and soot behind, noticeably impacting indoor air quality. Measurements of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter (PM) are being made inside and around multiple homes in the area beginning on January 8, 2022. This RAPID project will provide support for the continuation of these measurements to assess the sustained fire impacts on air quality and for the analysis and presentation of the results.This project will address the following questions: (i) What is the composition of indoor air in smoke-impacted homes after the Marshall Fire? (ii) Which physical processes control the continued release of pollutants from smoke-impacted homes? (iii) What is the composition of the contaminated ash and soot left behind in homes? (iv) What are the continuing emissions of air pollutants in the burnt area? (v) What levels of PM were people exposed to during and after the Marshall fire? This information is of interest to local communities and health departments. Five graduate students will be trained to assist with this project.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.