Suburban areas in flames: dispersion of potentially toxic elements from burned vegetation and buildings. Estimation of the associated ecological and human health risk
Abstract
The results of the assessment of burned residential and wildland areas associated with the July 2018 western Attica wildfire are summarised. The dispersion of major and trace elements in a fire impacted suburban landscape which is adjacent in the north with a Natura 2000 area is evaluated. The dataset includes 35 elements and 27 sampling sites spatially distributed in wildland and residential areas. Field observations and a macroscopic method were applied for investigating the wildfire severity. Statistical and spatial analysis tools were used for data treatment. Major and trace element contents were compared to levels and criteria provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment and Australian Department of Environment and Conservation. Aluminum, As, Co, Fe, Mn, Ni, Sb and Zn concentrations observed in wildfire ash pose potential risk to human health. Median ash concentrations for Al, As, B, Ba, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, S, Sb, and Zn exceeds the plant-avian-mammalian screening levels in wildland and residential areas. Geogenic or anthropogenic origin of the elements is discussed. The associated health risk on human health and terrestrial ecological receptors (plant, avian, mammalian) is assessed.
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The effects of wildfire ash are wide-ranging, and its mobilization can pose a risk to human health, including respiratory problems through ash inhalation by firefighters, post-fire restoration teams, and the public nearby or downwind.
“The effects of wildfire ash are wide-ranging, and its mobilization can also pose a risk to human health.These include, for example, respiratory problems through ash inhalation by firefighters or post-fire restoration teams, and to the public nearby or downwind of active fires and recently burnt areas (e.g., Alexakis, 2020;Wan et al., 2021).”
From Chemical characteristics of wildfire ash across the globe and their environmental and socio-economic implications (2023) · cites this paper as Alexakis, 2020
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- Authors
- Alexakis, D. E.
- Venue
- Environmental Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2020-04
- Volume
- 183
- Pages
- 109153
- ISSN
- 0013-9351 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3002562692
- Cited by
- 54
- References
- 77
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 4
- FWCI
- 2.22
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Environmental Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- University of West Attica
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Heavy metals in environment
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Fire effects on ecosystems
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geochemistry and Petrology › Coal and Its By-products
- Keywords
- wildfire ash, potentially toxic elements, suburbs, burned vegetation, burned buildings, human health risk, environmental risk assessment, trace elements, heavy metals, aluminum, arsenic, lead, zinc, source apportionment, Natura 2000
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Australia, Canada, Environmental Health, Environmental Monitoring, Fires, Humans, Trace Elements, Risk Assessment, Metals, Heavy
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