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Wildland-urban interface fire ashes as a major source of incidental nanomaterials.
Alshehri, Talal; Wang, Jingjing; Singerling, Sheryl A; Gigault, Julien; Webster, Jackson P; Matiasek, Sandrine J; Alpers, Charles N; Baalousha, Mohammed.
Affiliation
  • Alshehri T; Center for Environmental Nanoscience and Risk, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29201, United States; Environmental Health Department, College of Public Health, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 31441
  • Wang J; Center for Environmental Nanoscience and Risk, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29201, United States.
  • Singerling SA; National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology Infrastructure (NanoEarth, Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, United States.
  • Gigault J; TAKUVIK, Université Laval/CNRS, IRL 3376, G1V 0A6 Québec, Canada.
  • Webster JP; Department of Civil Engineering, California State University Chico, 400 W 1st St, Chico, CA 95929, United States.
  • Matiasek SJ; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, California State University Chico, 400 W 1st St, Chico, CA 95929, United States.
  • Alpers CN; US Geological Survey, California Water Science Center, 6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95819, United States.
  • Baalousha M; Center for Environmental Nanoscience and Risk, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29201, United States. Electronic address: mbaalous@mailbox.sc.edu.
J Hazard Mater ; 443(Pt B): 130311, 2023 02 05.
Article in En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36368066
Although metal and metalloid concentrations in wildfire ashes have been documented, the nature and concentrations of incidental nanomaterials (INMs) in wildland-urban interface (WUI) fire ashes have received considerably less attention. In this study, the total metal and metalloid concentrations of 57 vegetation, structural, and vehicle ashes and underlying soils collected at the WUI following the 2020 fire season in northern California - North Complex Fire and LNU Lightning Complex Fire - were determined using inductively coupled plasma-time of flight-mass spectrometry after microwave-assisted acid digestion. The concentrations of Ti, Zn, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sn, Sb, Co, Bi, Cr, Ba, As, Rb, and W are generally higher in structural/vehicle-derived ashes than in vegetation-derived ashes and soils. The concentrations of Ca, Sr, Rb, and Ag increased with increased combustion completeness (e.g., black ash < gray ash < white ash), whereas those of C, N, Zn, Pb, and In decreased with increased combustion completeness. The concentration of anthropogenic Ti - determined by mass balance calculations and shifts in Ti/Nb above the natural background ratios - was highest in vehicle ash (median: 30.8 g kg-1, range: 4.5-41.0 g kg-1) followed by structural ash (median: 5.5 g kg-1, range: of 0-77.4 g kg-1). Various types of carbonaceous INM (e.g., amorphous carbon, turbostratic-like carbon, and carbon associated with zinc oxides) and metal-bearing INMs (e.g., Ti, Cu, Fe, Zn, Mn, Pb, and Cr) with sizes between few nanometers to few hundreds of nanometers were evidenced in ashes using transmission electron microscopy, including energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Overall, this study demonstrates the abundance of a variety of metals and metalloids in the form of INMs in WUI fire ashes. This study also highlights the need for further research into the formation, transformation, reactivity, fate, and effects of INMs during and following fires at the WUI.
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Full text: 1 Collection: 01-internacional Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Wildfires / Nanostructures / Metalloids Language: En Journal: J Hazard Mater Journal subject: SAUDE AMBIENTAL Year: 2023 Document type: Article Country of publication: Netherlands

Full text: 1 Collection: 01-internacional Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Wildfires / Nanostructures / Metalloids Language: En Journal: J Hazard Mater Journal subject: SAUDE AMBIENTAL Year: 2023 Document type: Article Country of publication: Netherlands