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镇拉海纳(毛伊岛)。早期迹象表明，毛伊岛野火导致燃烧植被、车辆和建筑物时向环境释放危险化学品和污染物，包括颗粒物(PM)、挥发性有机化合物(VOCs)和多环芳烃(PAHs)。尽管毛伊岛的野火现在已得到控制，但其对空气质量和公共卫生的影响将持续数月。这一快速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外空气质量的影响。为了推进这一目标，项目团队将招募20户居民家庭，测量与各种呼吸道健康问题有关的室内和室外火灾相关空气污染物，包括PM、总VOCs和PAHs。此外，项目组建议评估配备高效微粒空气(HEPA)和活性碳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。该项目的成功完成有可能通过生成有关毛伊岛野火对受影响居民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，产生变革性的影响。在设计和实施解决方案以减轻野火对受影响社区内空气质量的直接和长期影响时，迫切需要这种新的数据和知识来指导城市管理人员、公共卫生官员和应急人员。还将通过学生教育和培训为社会带来更多好处，包括指导哈佛大学和夏威夷大学马诺阿分校的两名博士后研究员。夏威夷毛伊岛的野火造成附近社区的疏散和大范围的破坏。尽管野火现在已得到控制，但其对空气质量和公共卫生的影响将持续数月。虽然过去的研究表明，野火后室内空气污染水平上升，便携式空气净化器在一定程度上有效地降低了室内空气污染物浓度，但这些工作大多集中在相对较短的时间内的颗粒物和空气质量评估。在这个合作的快速项目中，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户毛伊岛居民家庭进行现场空气质量测量和评估。这些措施将包括室内和室外火灾相关空气污染物的测量，以及为期三个月的便携式空气净化器在减少室内火灾相关污染物暴露方面的有效性评估，配备高效空气过滤器和活性碳过滤器。空气质量的测量和评估将集中在颗粒物(PM)、总挥发性有机化合物(VOCs)和多环芳烃(PAHs)上，因为这些污染物与野火有关，并会造成一系列不利的健康影响。这项研究的具体目标是：1)测量选定居民家庭内外PM、VOCs和PAHs的浓度和化学成分；2)估计渗入被测试居民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室内目标空气污染物水平的有效性。总而言之，这个快速项目产生的数据和知识将促进人们从根本上理解哪些与火灾有关的污染物在某些类型的住宅中最高，以及便携式空气净化器作为干预措施的有效性。从这个项目中产生的新的基本知识将为解决方案的设计提供信息，以减轻毛伊岛野火对受影响居民家庭空气质量的影响，并支持未来对全国范围内的野火事件的反应。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。

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.