The Chemistry of Fires at the Wildland-Urban Interface (2022) / Chapter Skim
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8 The Future of WUI Fire Research
8 The Future of WUI Fire Research
Pages 167-176
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From page 167... ...
These unique characteristics of WUI fires can lead to toxicants and exposures that are largely uncharacterized. Earlier chapters in this report identified research needs for WUI fires that include the following: • Identifying at-risk communities and vulnerable populations and evaluating interventions • Characterizing fuel types, combustion characteristics, and emissions • Defining the chemistry of toxicants from WUI fires in air, in water, and on land, including ash and debris • Predicting the multimedia transport and transformation of WUI fire toxicants • Identifying and quantifying toxicant exposures and health impacts resulting from WUI fires This chapter summarizes and prioritizes those many research needs into a research agenda.
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From page 168... ...
Finally, the better understanding of WUI fires that will emerge from the research agenda needs to be made relevant to both decision-makers addressing WUI fires and their aftermath, and the public seeking to minimize toxicant exposures and health impacts. Measurement and modeling tools are needed to predict and quickly assess WUI fire chemistry, toxicant formation, and potential exposures.
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From page 169... ...
Chemistry, Transport, Measurement Science and Fuels and Emissions and Transformations Exposure and Health Analytics Collecting WUI- Assemble data on fuels, emissions, chemistry, transformations, exposures, and health impacts that are attributable specific data to fires at the WUI, differentiated from wildland fires and urban fires, which will require novel measurements and analyses Fundamental - Map WUI - Identify primary - Improve understanding - Develop new analytical measurements communities, and their toxicants emerging from of indoor penetration and capabilities for measuring and data material loadings and WUI fires composition of WUI fire chemical, particle, and compositions - Identify secondary smoke biological indicators - Identify combustion species with toxic - Evaluate health of WUI fire toxicants conditions and emissions potential, formed from implications of smoke in studies on emission, typical of WUI fires the atmospheric aging of constituents, and exposure, and health - Examine interactions WUI fire emissions exposure to constituents outcome between human-made - Gather existing data in water fuels and wildland fire on air, water, and soil fuels using mechanistic testing associated models and experiments with WUI fires in an at bench, and larger scales accessible database Field and - Assess the fuels, - Identify dominant - Characterize multi- - Optimize analytical population consumption, and daytime and nighttime route and multimedia methods for field studies emissions of WUI fires atmospheric oxidants in exposures and health deployment and increased - Perform coordinated, WUI fire plumes impacts accessibility multi-platform, - Identify the key - Improve understanding - Develop biomarkers multimedia studies of precursors and formation of acute and long-term specific to WUI fires that WUI fire energetics and pathways of secondary health effects of WUI can be used for exposure emissions species with toxic fire toxicant exposures and toxicity assessment potential, formed by - Improve exposure - Develop standard the gaseous, aqueous, measurements for WUI procedures for testing multiphase, and catalytic fire emissions water and soil after WUI reactions in plumes fires; establish databases of - Identify key chemical testing studies species that can impact water and soils Prediction, - Develop risk - Develop condensed - Measure the - Deploy multi-scale assessment, assessment procedures chemical mechanisms effectiveness of sensing capabilities and exposure- for WUI fires and the sub-grid-scale interventions for to assess chemical mitigation - Develop predictive processing needed for firefighters compositions of WUI fire capabilities models of WUI fire regional modeling of - Expand identification plumes combustion and WUI fire emissions of vulnerable emissions - Create improved populations and - Identify strategies at a retrospective and culturally appropriate structure, neighborhood, prospective models of interventions and community level to WUI fire exposures - Develop health equity mitigate WUI fire risk - Evaluate risks to considerations for WUI community water systems fire exposures and response plans
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From page 170... ...
This is identified as a highpriority research area because it is foundational to defining the scope of other research activities (e.g., what types of urban materials should undergo laboratory testing and what types of atmospheric chemical transformations are likely to be important) and will be broadly applicable to many WUI fires.
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From page 171... ...
Experience with wildland fire research has demonstrated that multiple skill sets are needed for a comprehensive understanding of how the fuels, the meteorology, and the topology couple to influence combustion conditions and the resulting plume emissions. Coordinated multi-platform, multimedia studies of WUI fire energetics and emissions are needed to provide a comprehensive understanding of fire and emissions phenomena.
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From page 172... ...
Field Studies Coordinated field measurements in WUI fire plumes at a range of aging times are needed to determine the dominant daytime and nighttime atmospheric oxidants and the concentrations of these oxidants. Measurements should include tracers of oxidant chemistry.
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From page 173... ...
A need exists to better identify at-risk and vulnerable residents and workers affected by near-field WUI fires and to identify culturally appropriate interventions to reduce adverse health impacts. A better understanding is needed of the health outcomes for vulnerable populations, resulting from exposure to the complex mixtures of chemical and particle emissions from WUI fires.
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From page 174... ...
Additional sensing capabilities should be deployed to assess chemical compositions of fire plumes. CROSS-DISCIPLINARY COORDINATION As shown in Figure 8-1, the information needed to understand the toxicants emerging from wildland fires, structural fires, and WUI fires; their effects; and whom they affect spans a broad range of scientific disciplines.
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From page 175... ...
BOX 8-1 Priorities for Near-Term Research • Developing data systems to enable communities to predict the chemical composition of materials pres ent in structures at threat from WUI fires; these data systems could include estimates of metal, halogen, and other chemical loadings in structures • Adding measurements of targeted WUI toxicants to air and water quality monitoring systems; these measurement systems could be rapidly deployed to areas impacted by WUI fires • Establishing information repositories on toxicant data, best practices for mitigation measures, and best practices for information dissemination; state agencies could lead in the coordination of data collec tion; data consistency, quality, and access could be addressed at a national level, and at all levels, communication and dissemination strategies for vulnerable and at-risk community populations could be developed
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