Multiple outlets reported on a new peer-reviewed study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finding that Maui residents continued to carry elevated levels of toxic metals in their bodies up to 18 months after the 2023 Lahaina wildfires, with those higher levels linked to measurable lung impairment. The Maui Wildfire Exposure Study, conducted by researchers at the University of Hawaii, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, tested the urine of approximately 1,400 Maui adults between six and eighteen months after the August 2023 fires. Researchers say the findings suggest wildfire health impacts extend well beyond the period when smoke clears, and call for longer-term post-wildfire environmental monitoring.
- Researchers measured 24 metals in urine samples and administered standardized lung function tests across roughly 1,400 Maui adults.
- Antimony levels were nearly 40 times higher than U.S. biomonitoring reference data; manganese was 3.8x higher, barium 2.3x, and arsenic 2.2x higher.
- Arsenic, cadmium, copper, and antimony contributed most strongly to associations with reduced lung function.
- Metals are believed to originate from burned buildings, vehicles, electronics, and other materials β a more complex chemical mixture than burned vegetation alone typically produces.
- Lahaina showed some of the strongest exposures, including elevated arsenic and cadmium; Wailuku and Kahului had the highest median concentrations of copper, iron, and molybdenum; Kula and KΔ«hei also showed distinct patterns. (Hawaii Public Radio)
- Because no pre-fire biomonitoring data exist, researchers cannot precisely determine how much of the measured metal burden came directly from the wildfire versus pre-existing environmental factors such as Hawaii’s geology, historic agricultural and industrial land use, and diet. (Columbia)
- Researchers say the results appear linked to multiple exposure pathways rather than a single wildfire event, and call for longitudinal biomonitoring and environmental sampling to disentangle those pathways.
- The study recommends that recovery efforts account for contaminants that may remain in ash, dust, soil, and debris long after a fire is extinguished.
Sources
- 2News: Residents near Maui wildfires show elevated metals linked to impacted lung health, study says
- Columbia: Persistent Internal Metal Mixtures Associated with Pulmonary Impairment
- Hawaii Public Radio: High metal concentrations found in some Maui residents 3 years post-wildfire
- San: 3 years after the flames, Maui wildfire survivors may still be breathing the aftermath
- Weather: Maui wildfire survivors show elevated metals linked to lung harm, study says
- Yahoo: Maui residents show elevated metal levels, abnormal lung function post-wildfires: New UH report
- Maui News: Residents near Maui wildfires show elevated metals linked to impacted lung health, study says
- Clickorlando: Residents near Maui wildfires show elevated metals linked to impacted lung health, study says
- News4Jax: Residents near Maui wildfires show elevated metals linked to impacted lung health, study says
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