Alejandro Burundo
Appearances
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-25-2025 6PM EST
She's a researcher at Caltech and an author of the new analysis. She and colleagues were monitoring the smoke in real time from a sensor site about 14 miles from the Eden fire. She says the lead probably came from paint or pipes in older houses that burned. Long-term lead exposure is associated with health problems like brain and reproductive issues. The spike subsided after a few days.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-25-2025 6PM EST
For about two and a half days at the beginning of the fires, the smoke blanketing Los Angeles was even more health damaging than normal wildfire smoke. because it contained much higher levels of lead than normal. So we're talking about an increase of about 110 times, and that is compared to just a few days before the fire. That's Harula Bailaka.