New research finds dangerous levels of chromium were in the air months after the Eaton and Palisades fires and that the particles traveled miles away.
Researchers at UCLA and UC Davis say 3.3 million people were exposed to the carcinogen, up to nine miles away from the fire zones.
“You're looking at up to 10 kilometers still, where you've got concentrations that are rising to the level where you should be cautious,” UC Davis' Michael Kleeman told KNX News’ Karen Adams. “They would have to stay at that level for long time periods where we would say that there's a definite immediate health threat, but it warrants caution, I think, and to understand what does it mean to be exposed to a nanoparticle of hexavalent chromium, and that covered a pretty broad area.”
He said chromium was in the air two months after the fires, although the dangerous particles did subside as time went on.
“We're sort of being cautious in our interpretation of this, saying that this warrants attention,” he continued. “We need to know what this means for public health when you've got a large population exposed to something like this.”
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