Risk from toxic metals can persist months after wildfires, Maui study finds — SkimNews
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- Maui Wildfire Exposure Study researchers found substantially elevated levels of arsenic, cadmium, copper, antimony, manganese and barium in urine samples from 1,400 adults up to 18 months after the August 2023 Lāhainā wildfires, with antimony running 40 times higher than U.S. biomonitoring data.
- Higher metal concentrations in study participants correlated with abnormal lung function — including reduced breathing capacity — during standard breathing tests, according to the study published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
- University of Hawaiʻi researchers said the metals originated from burned buildings, vehicles and electronics, a more complex chemical mixture than the vegetation-only exposures typically studied after wildfires.
- Co-principal investigator Alika Maunakea said the geographic distribution of smoke and ash shaped lung effects, with those nearest Lāhainā, Wailuku and Kahului experiencing different impacts than residents near Kula.
- The study acknowledged a key limitation: no comparable pre-August 2023 data exists, so researchers cannot determine how much of the metal burden came from the fires versus chronic exposures like Hawaiʻi's geology, diet or historic agricultural activity.
- Co-principal investigator Ruben Juarez said disaster response "should not stop when visible danger is gone," noting that floods, hurricanes and fires can disturb legacy contaminants and create exposure pathways for years afterward.
- The August 2023 wildfires, caused by wind spreading a brushfire spurred by downed power lines, destroyed Lāhainā and killed more than 100 people in one of the deadliest U.S. wildfires on record.
Why it matters: With wildfires intensifying globally due to climate change, the Maui findings suggest that lung health damage from urban-interface fires — where buildings and electronics burn alongside vegetation — can continue long after flames are extinguished, meaning recovery timelines and air-quality monitoring for fire survivors likely need to extend well beyond the immediate emergency.
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