California wildfires pass 4 million acres burned, doubling previous record – that's a lot of toxic smoke

To understand the risks of wildfire smoke, it helps to understand the chemicals people are breathing.

Joshua S. Fu, John D. Tickle Professor of Engineering and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Tennessee • conversation
Oct. 2, 2020 • ~8 min
Tags: health environment pollution wildfire chemicals air-pollution natural-disasters wildfires smoke

Wildfire smoke is laced with toxic chemicals – here's how they got there

To understand the risks of wildfire smoke, it helps to understand the chemicals people are breathing.

Joshua S. Fu, John D. Tickle Professor of Engineering and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Tennessee • conversation
Oct. 2, 2020 • ~8 min
Tags: health environment pollution wildfire chemicals air-pollution natural-disasters wildfires smoke

Wildfires can leave toxic drinking water behind – here's how to protect the public

Two environmental engineers say governments need to do more to protect people from possible water contamination after wildfires.

Caitlin R. Proctor, Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellow, Purdue University • conversation
Sept. 17, 2020 • ~9 min
Tags: water camp-fire chemicals drinking-water natural-disasters california wildfires oregon disaster-recovery safe-drinking-water-act building-codes washington-state

How chemicals like PFAS can increase your risk of severe COVID-19

Endocrine-disrupting compounds are pervasive in modern life, from food packaging to shampoo. Research is connecting their effects on humans to risk of severe illness or death from the coronavirus.

Kathryn Crawford, Assistant Professor of Environmental Health, Middlebury • conversation
Aug. 31, 2020 • ~7 min
Tags: health environment covid-19 coronavirus pandemic chemicals plastic environmental-health pfas

A burning chemical plant may be just the tip of Hurricane Laura's damage in this area of oil fields and industry

A storm-driven chlorine gas release in a vulnerable community is the type of worst-case scenario that scientists and engineers have warned about for decades.

John Pardue, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Louisiana State University • conversation
Aug. 28, 2020 • ~7 min
Tags: hurricanes chemicals fossil-fuels oil-industry extreme-weather natural-disasters gulf-of-mexico

Wildfires can poison drinking water – here's how communities can be better prepared

Buildings aren't the only things at risk in wildfires. Recent disasters in California have left local water system contaminated with toxic chemicals afterward, slowing return and recovery.

Caitlin R. Proctor, Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellow, Purdue University • conversation
Aug. 3, 2020 • ~11 min
Tags: water camp-fire chemicals drinking-water natural-disasters california wildfires disaster-recovery safe-drinking-water-act building-codes safe-drinking-water

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