Getting Through It: After the Fires #14

This episode welcomes Dr. Erika Garcia and her work with the LA Countywide testing of lead related to the 2025 fires through the USC CLEAN Project. As of the time of this posting, they are still accepting submissions (at no cost) for your property to be added to the study. For interpretation of your results and more broadly how to manage lead contamination, they produced this guide.

In this episode, Dr. Jones is joined by Dr. Michael Kleeman, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Davis, to discuss new research on metallic nanoparticles found after the January 2025 fires. They explore why particle size matters, how tiny particles can move through the body, and what scientists learned while studying dust from debris removal in urban burn areas. Dr. Kleeman explains the unexpected discovery of nanoparticle chromium and why burned homes, vehicles, electronics, artificial turf, and other materials may contribute to unusual air quality risks after a fire.    

In this episode, Dr. Jones is joined by Dr. Josh West, Professor of Earth Science and Environmental Studies at USC and one of the lead scientists for the CLEAN Project. They discuss heavy metals in soil after the January 2025 fires, with a focus on lead, how testing standards are used, and why understanding exposure is more complicated than a simple yes-or-no answer. Dr. West also explains how some contaminants come from fire impacts while others may already exist in the soil from past pollution or natural geology.  

This episode looks at the long-term health impacts from the fires with Dr. David Eisenman, Professor at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Fielding UCLA School of Public Health. He's also the Director of Center for Public Health and Disasters and Co-Director of the Center for Healthy Climate Solutions. 

We welcome back Dr. Harry Allen, Environmental Scientist and on-scene coordinator for EPA Region 9, to give an update since he first joined us (Episode 6). He'll share the latest research and findings as time since the fire has passed. 

Dr. Jones reflects on the tactics those going through recovery can undertake the continue to manage the long process of recovery by incorporating scientific information into decision-making. She shares research-based approaches based on the social science around managing risk.

Joined by Caltech’s Issac Aguilar Rivera, this episode looks what was in the air, fell onto communities, and what still remains. This helps inform how the data is collected and what it means to those impacted. Episode resources: April 2025 Caltech Science Exchange Webinar USC Residential Soil Testing Purdue Community Survey Report  Purdue After a Wildfire Considerations for Testing Report

The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers removed toxic waste and ash from the burn scar in the first few months after the fires. But many people have found they still have high levels of lead in their yards. We talk with Dr. Danielle Stevenson, an environmental toxicologist, about new approaches to removing the lead that don't require digging out all of your soil.

Continuing to look at air quality and its impact, Dr. Qiao Yu of UCLA's Fielding School of Public Health joins to talk about his work with CAPLA and what it means for the safety of returning to areas impacted by the wildfire airborne contaminants.  The findings report can be found here.

Studying atmospheric chemistry at Caltech, Haroula Baliaka joins the podcast to talk about her research into air quality through her work as the lead for the PHOENIX project, which launched in January 2025. She shares what her research found in the burn areas and how it compares to the pollutants that exist in LA from non-fire sources.