Hazardous Materials Are a Concern as Wildfire Cleanup Begins

As Southern California wildland-urban interface fires are 100% contained, the recovery process and cleanup begin. Cleaning up a property can be dangerous as there can be hazardous materials on the ground, inside homes and businesses, and in the air.

Cleaning up after a wildfire is not as simple scooping up debris with a bulldozer. Impacted sites will need to be assessed for hazardous materials from paints to damaged propane cylinders, to asbestos before any debris removal can begin. Dust controls will need to be implemented. Air monitoring upwind and downwind may need to occur during cleanup. Residents, business owners, and employees can be exposed to arsenic, asbestos, lead, and other harmful materials during the cleanup of nearby debris piles. Moving debris piles or even wind activity can release hazards into the air, where they can wind up miles away into other communities.

“Wildland-urban interface fires like the Eaton and Palisades fires leave behind more than a wake of burned structures and hillsides. They leave behind and disseminate a legacy of hazardous debris. These compounds can affect the soil and nearby water sources. The contaminants can become aerosolized and enter your home or business both during the fire and after the fire,” said Derrick Denis, Senior Vice President, Clark Seif Clark, Inc. (CSC). “In some instances, there are also hazardous materials in the fire debris that are regulated by local, state, and federal agencies. Hazards like asbestos, lead, and nickel can be measured in the settled dust and debris that entered a structure. Cleaning may be needed to return the site to a pre-loss condition.” Mr. Denis continued, “CSC has developed assessment methods for determining if your property is impacted by settled hazards, we develop pragmatic cleaning protocols for your vendors to follow, we conduct clearance testing to verify the efficacy of cleaning efforts, and we provide recommendations for modifying your property to protect cleaned areas from becoming impacted again.”

To help in these situations, the industrial hygiene, building science, and environmental professionals at CSC offer indoor and outdoor testing services to identify and mitigate exposure risks to wildfire debris, smoke residues, and other pollutants. CSC also provides training resources on the proper use of respirators and personal protective equipment (PPE), air monitoring services, building assessments to evaluate filtration and engineering controls, smoke residue and odor investigations, health and safety compliance, and more.

Wildfire recovery is a community-wide effort that requires both individual and collective action. By taking steps to monitor health, test for contaminants, and maintain clean environments, stronger, healthier, and more resilient communities can emerge.

For more information on fire debris, smoke damage residues, asbestos, and other indoor environmental quality issues, contact Clark Seif Clark, Inc. at 800-807-1118 or by email at csc@csceng.com. Please visit www.csceng.com to learn about additional services.

About Clark Seif Clark, Inc. (CSC)
CSC was established in 1989 to help clients in both public and private sectors address indoor air quality, occupational health, and environmental, health, and safety (EH&S) issues. CSC is a leading provider of these services with multiple offices along the western seaboard and southwest. The company believes in science-based protocols and has a strong background in engineering, making them the preferred environmental consultants to industrial clients, healthcare facilities, architects, schools, builders, contractors, developers, and real estate professionals.

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Paul Cochrane

President

Cochrane & Associates, LLC

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