Jairo Perez walked out of the parking lot of God’s waiting room church in Altadena, California, on a recent Saturday with his 9-year-old son, each with matching connections in the crook of their elbows. They had just pulled their blood to test for lead exposure.
Two months ago the family returned to their house along the border of Pasadena and Altadena after a few weeks displaced by the Eaton Fire. While their house survived, they had to throw away potentially polluted mattresses and furniture, remove floor coverings and deepen the space to get rid of ashes.
Now the prospect that his son may have been exposed to toxic chemicals, such as lead, contributes to the concerns of Mr Perez.
“We love our neighborhood, we love our community, we don’t want to move,” he said. But he added: “I am still worried about my child and worry about finding a place that is affordable when we have to move.”
Three months after the Palisades and Eaton fires were torn by Los Angeles County, residents are concerned about the potential health effects in the long term of the fires, which burned more than 16,000 structures and all the toxic materials they contain.
In March it started to organize Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Free test events for mobile blood guide Like those who Mr. Perez and his son were present. The Department has said that it gives priority to lead tests because “it is the most urgent and highest potential risk of the forest fires.” Those who return to their houses can be exposed to lead when they touch the ground that is contaminated by Natuurbrandas, or follow it in their houses. It is also possible to breathe particles in the air when sweeping or vacuuming ash.
Early findings from the long -term La Fire Health Study have shown that in the days after the fighting of Los Angeles, Firefighters had increased levels of lead and mercury In their blood cells. They also had higher levels than firefighters who fought against forest fires in less urban areas, suggesting that they may have been exposed to the unique threats of burnt buildings, cars and electronics.
And preliminary findings of soil sample tests that were released on 10 April found raised lead levels in the area against the wind of the Eaton Fire. That fire burned through a neighborhood where most houses were built before 1975, when lead -based paint was common.
No amount of lead in blood is considered safeBut the possible risks vary based on age and level of exposure. For children, Even low levels Lead in blood may cause long-term effects, including damage to the brain and nervous system, developmental disadvantages and learning and behavioral problems. Lead exposure during pregnancy Increase the risk From a miscarriage, premature birth and other issues. And in adult” Chronic or high exposure levels are associated with High blood pressureKidney damage and problems with memory and concentration.
By offering lead tests, public health officials hope to give residents some answers about their risk. The results of these tests reflect the exposure to lead in the past six weeks, said Jill Johnston, an environmental epidemiologist and member of the La Fire Health Study Team.
Until now, the results of the province’s blood leader have been ‘reassuring’, Dr. Nichole Quick, chief advisor of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, 10 April in a virtual town hall. Of the 240 people tested (including Mr Perez and his son), nobody had higher Then one then one Threshold set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to identify people with more lead in their blood than the general population.
It is generally “good news” that the lead level of the blood is lower than that level, Dr. Johnston. But she noted that it was unclear how many of the 240 individuals live in or near the combustion areas, or in the area where soil samples showed increased lead levels.
That is what makes broader tests essential, she said and other experts. She added that long -term monitoring would also help researchers to keep up with how exposure levels can change as cleaning up and the reconstruction continues. The province will continue to offer free tests until the end of August.
Ruben Juarez, a professor in the health economy at the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, pointed to studies after the Lahaina Brand in 2023 in West Maui as proof of the need for further main monitoring.
The Hawaii Department of Health has tested 557 inhabitants of West Maui on Lead and found only five people with increased levels, prominent health officials To conclude that It was unlikely that the toxins in natural fire axle would cause medical problems.
But Dr. Juarez, one of the main researchers on a larger and longer term study After those fires, scientists said that more than 20 percent of the participants had increased levels of Arsenic and that a small percentage had increased levels of other heavy metals, including lead. The study also found a connection between people who were exposed to those metals and health problems of the lung.
“A low result is good,” he said, “but it’s not the end of the story.”
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