RAPID: Levels of PM, VOCs, and PAHs in Residences Post-2023 Maui Wildfire: Exposure and Mitigation Assessment

2023年8月8日，一场迅速而毁灭性的野火烧毁了夏威夷州历史名城拉海纳（毛伊岛）。早期迹象表明，毛伊岛野火导致有害化学物质和污染物释放到环境中，包括颗粒物质（PM）、挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）和植被、车辆和建筑物燃烧产生的多环芳烃（PAHs）。虽然毛伊岛野火目前已得到控制，但其对空气质量和公众健康的影响将持续数月。该RAPID项目将评估释放的危险化学品和污染物对受野火影响的毛伊岛居民区室内和室外空气质量的影响。为实现这一目标，项目团队将招募20个家庭并与之合作，测量室内和室外与火灾有关的空气污染物，这些污染物与各种呼吸道健康问题有关，包括PM、总挥发性有机化合物和多环芳烃。此外，项目团队建议评估配备高效微粒空气（HEPA）和活性炭过滤器的便携式空气净化器在减少室内暴露于这些污染物方面的有效性。通过生成有关毛伊岛野火对受影响住宅社区室内和室外空气质量的直接和长期影响的数据和基本知识，该项目的成功完成有可能产生变革性影响。在城市管理者、公共卫生官员和应急人员设计和实施解决方案以减轻野火对受影响社区空气质量的直接和长期影响时，迫切需要这些新的数据和知识来指导他们。通过学生教育和培训，包括哈佛大学和夏威夷大学马诺阿分校的两名博士后研究员的指导，将为社会带来额外的好处。夏威夷州毛伊岛的野火导致附近社区疏散和大面积破坏。尽管野火现在已经得到控制，但它对空气质量和公众健康的影响将持续数月。虽然过去的研究表明，火灾后室内空气污染水平升高，便携式空气净化器在一定程度上有效降低室内空气污染物浓度，但大部分研究都集中在相对较短时间内的颗粒物和空气质量评估上。在这个合作的RAPID项目中，来自哈佛大学和夏威夷大学马诺阿分校的一组调查人员提议对受野火影响的20个毛伊岛居民家庭进行实地测量和空气质量评估。其中包括室内和室外与火灾有关的空气污染物测量，以及对配备HEPA和活性炭过滤器的便携式空气净化器在减少室内与火灾有关的污染物暴露方面的有效性进行为期三个月的评估。空气质量测量和评估将侧重于颗粒物（PM）、总挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）和多环芳烃（PAHs），因为这些污染物与野火有关，并对健康造成一系列不利影响。研究的具体目标是：1)测量选定住宅家庭内外的PM， VOCs和PAHs的浓度和化学成分；2)估计渗透到测试住宅家庭的室外空气污染物的比例；3)评估便携式空气净化器在三个月内降低目标空气污染物室内水平的有效性。总的来说，这个RAPID项目产生的数据和知识将促进对某些类型住宅中与火灾有关的污染物含量最高的基本理解，以及便携式空气净化器作为干预措施的有效性。该项目产生的新的基础知识将为设计解决方案提供信息，以减轻毛伊岛野火对受影响住宅空气质量的影响，并为未来应对全国范围内的野火事件提供支持。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

On August 8, 2023, a rapid and devastating wildfire burned through the historical town of Lahaina (Maui) in the State of Hawaii. Early indications suggest that the Maui wildfire caused the release of hazardous chemicals and pollutants into the environment including particulate matter (PM), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from the burning of vegetation, vehicles, and structures. Although the Maui wildfire is now under control, its effects on air quality and public health will persist for months. This RAPID project will evaluate the impact of the released hazardous chemicals and pollutants on indoor and outdoor air quality in Maui residential communities that have been impacted by the wildfire. To advance this goal, the project team will recruit and work with 20 residential households to measure both indoor and outdoor fire-related air pollutants linked to various respiratory health problems including PM, total VOCs, and PAHs. In addition, the project team proposes to assess the effectiveness of portable air cleaners, equipped with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) and activated carbon filters, in reducing indoor exposure to these pollutants. The successful completion of this project has the potential for transformative impact through the generation of data and fundamental knowledge about the immediate and long-term impacts of the Maui wildfire on indoor and outdoor air quality in the affected residential communities. Such new data and knowledge would be critically needed to guide urban managers, public health officials, and emergency responders as they design and implement solutions to mitigate the immediate and long-term impacts of wildfires on air quality within affected communities. Additional benefits to society will be achieved through student education and training, including the mentoring of two post-doctoral research fellows at Harvard University and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The Maui wildfire in the State of Hawaii caused evacuations and extensive destruction in nearby communities. Even though the wildfire is now under control, its effects on air quality and public health will persist for months. While past work has shown elevated levels of indoor air pollution post wildfires, and portable air cleaners to be effective at reducing indoor air pollutant concentrations to some extent, most of this work has focused on particulate matter and air quality assessments over relatively short periods of time. In this collaborative RAPID project, a team of investigators from Harvard University and the University of Hawaii at Manoa propose to conduct field measurements and evaluations of air quality in 20 Maui residential households that have been affected by the wildfire. These will include indoor and outdoor fire-related air pollutant measurements along with a three-month evaluation of the effectiveness of portable air cleaners, equipped with HEPA and activated carbon filters, at reducing indoor exposures to fire-related pollutants. The air quality measurements and evaluations will focus on particulate matter (PM), total volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), as these pollutants are associated with wildfires and cause a range of adverse health effects. The specific objectives of the research are to 1) measure the concentrations and chemical compositions of PM, VOCs, and PAHs inside and outside the selected residential households, 2) estimate the fractions of air pollutants from outdoor sources that infiltrate the tested residential households, and 3) evaluate the effectiveness of portable air cleaners to reduce the indoor levels of the target air pollutants over a three-month period. Collectively taken together, the data and knowledge generated from this RAPID project will advance the fundamental understanding of which fire-related pollutants are most elevated in certain types of residences and how effective portable air cleaners are as an intervention. The new fundamental knowledge generated from this project will inform the design of solutions to mitigate the impact of the Maui wildfire on air quality in affected residential households and support future responses to wildfire events nationwide.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.