L.A. Officials Test Residents for Lead After Fires

Jairo Perez walked out of the parking lot of God’s Waiting Room Church in Altadena, Calif., on a recent Saturday with his 9-year-old son, each with matching bandages in the crook of their elbows. They had just gotten their blood drawn to test for lead exposure.

Two months ago, the family returned to their home along the border of Pasadena and Altadena after spending several weeks displaced by the Eaton fire. While their home survived, they had to throw away potentially contaminated mattresses and furniture, remove carpeting and deep-clean the space to rid it of ash.

Now, the prospect that his son might have been exposed to toxic chemicals, like lead, is adding to Mr. Perez’s concerns.

“We love our neighborhood, we love our community, we don’t want to move,” he said. But, he added, “I’m still worrying for my child, and I’m worrying about finding a place that’s affordable if we have to move.”

Three months after the Palisades and Eaton fires tore through Los Angeles County, residents are concerned about the potential long-term health effects of the fires, which burned over 16,000 structures and all of the toxic materials they contained.

In March, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health started hosting free mobile blood lead testing events such as the one Mr. Perez and his son attended. The department has said it is prioritizing lead testing because “it poses the most urgent and highest potential risk from the wildfires.” Those returning to their homes could be exposed to lead if they touch soil contaminated by wildfire ash, or track it into their homes. It’s also possible to inhale particles kicked up into the air when sweeping or vacuuming ash.

Early findings from the long-term L.A. Fire Health Study found that in the days after fighting the Los Angeles fires, firefighters had elevated levels of lead and mercury inside their blood cells. They also had higher levels than firefighters who battled forest fires in less urban areas, suggesting they may have been exposed to the unique threats of burned buildings, cars and electronics.

And preliminary findings from soil sample testing released April 10 found elevated lead levels in the area downwind of the Eaton fire. That fire burned through a neighborhood where most homes were built before 1975, when lead-based paint was common.

No amount of lead in blood is considered safe, but the possible risks vary based on age and level of exposure. For children, even low levels of lead in blood can potentially cause long-term impacts, including damage to the brain and nervous system, developmental delays, and learning and behavioral issues. Lead exposure during pregnancy can increase the risk of miscarriage, premature birth and other issues. And in adults, chronic or high exposure levels have been associated with high blood pressure, kidney damage and problems with memory and concentration.

By offering lead testing, public health officials hope to provide residents some answers about their risk. The results of these tests reflect lead exposure over the last six weeks, said Jill Johnston, an environmental epidemiologist and member of the L.A. Fire Health Study team.

So far, results from the county’s blood lead testing have been “reassuring,” Dr. Nichole Quick, chief medical adviser for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said April 10 at a virtual town hall. Of the 240 people tested (including Mr. Perez and his son), no one had levels higher than a threshold set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to identify people with more lead in their blood than the general population.

It’s generally “good news” that blood lead levels are below that level, Dr. Johnston said. But she noted that it was unclear how many of the 240 individuals tested live in or near the burn areas, or in the area where soil samples showed elevated lead levels.

That’s what makes broader testing essential, she and other experts said. She added that long-term monitoring would also help researchers track how exposure levels might change as cleanup and rebuilding continue. The county will continue offering free testing at least through the end of August.

Ruben Juarez, a professor of health economics at the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, pointed to studies after the 2023 Lahaina fire in West Maui as evidence of the need for further lead monitoring.

The Hawaii Department of Health tested 557 West Maui residents for lead and found just five people with elevated levels, leading health officials to conclude that the toxins in wildfire ash were unlikely to cause any medical problems.

But Dr. Juarez, one of the lead researchers on a larger and longer-term study after those fires, said scientists found that more than 20 percent of participants had elevated levels of arsenic and that a small percentage had elevated levels of other heavy metals, including lead. The study also found a link between individuals exposed to those metals and lung health issues.

“A low result is good,” he said, “but it’s not the end of the story.”