野火后如何保护自己免受有毒碎屑的侵害

专家说，有毒碎片的伤害可能会导致险恶的长期健康影响。因此，重要的是要穿个人防护装备和彻底清洁尚存的空间，以减轻有毒化学物质的风险。

After the Palisades Fire burned through his Malibu neighborhood, Michael Ingram was eager to see what remained of his childhood home. At a reentry point into the neighborhood, volunteers briefed him about the dangers of sifting through the ashes and encouraged him not to stay in the area for more than 15 minutes without protective gear. They handed him a bag full of gear and sent him on his way.

帕利塞德（Palisades）大火在他的马里布（Malibu）附近燃烧后，迈克尔·英格拉姆（Michael Ingram）渴望看到他童年时代的住所。在进入附近的一个重点，志愿者向他介绍了筛分灰烬的危险，并鼓励他在没有防护装备的情况下不要在该地区停留超过15分钟。他们递给他一个装满装备的袋子，然后把他送去。

When Ingram pulled up to the property, he found that the steel beams that supported the home had melted and the concrete slabs had failed. Much of the house had fallen in. Many of his family’s belongings lay as ash, teetering on the edge of the mountain. They chose not to sift through the debris and opened only their family safe.

当英格拉姆（Ingram）拉到该物业时，他发现支撑房屋的钢梁融化了，混凝土板已经失败。房子的大部分内容都掉进去。他的许多家人的财产躺在灰烬中，摇摇欲坠。他们选择不筛选碎片，只开放了家人的安全。

“The small chance to find some token or memento against the very real risk of inhaling all these toxins, it just wasn't worth it for us,” Ingram said.

英格拉姆说：“对于吸入所有这些毒素的真正风险，找到一些令牌或纪念品的机会很小，这对我们来说是不值得的。”

Ingram is one of thousands of residents returning to their neighborhoods after the devastating fires that torched homes throughout Los Angeles. Experts say the harm from toxic debris could cause sinister long-term health effects. So it’s important to wear personal protective gear and thoroughly clean surviving spaces to mitigate the risk from toxic chemicals.

英格拉姆（Ingram）是成千上万的居民之一，在毁灭性的洛杉矶毁灭性房屋的毁灭性大火之后，返回附近。专家说，有毒碎片的伤害可能会导致险恶的长期健康影响。因此，重要的是要穿个人防护装备和彻底清洁尚存的空间，以减轻有毒化学物质的风险。

Here’s what you should know.

这是您应该知道的。

What are the risks?

有什么风险？

Evelyn Wong, the medical director of Medical Mission Adventures, a nonprofit in Los Angeles dedicated to offering free mobile medical services, said that fires feature two major exposure periods: the smoke during the fire and then the toxic chemicals that linger long afterward.

医疗任务冒险医疗总监伊夫琳·王（Evelyn Wong）是洛杉矶的一家非营利组织，致力于提供免费的移动医疗服务。

During the Maui fires, which Wong responded to, “As people began returning to search for personal belongings without proper protective gear, we faced another wave of respiratory complaints,” she said. That pattern is repeating itself throughout Los Angeles.

她说：“当人们开始在没有适当的保护装备的情况下返回个人物品时，我们对毛伊岛的大火做出了回应，我们面临着另一波呼吸道投诉。”这种模式在整个洛杉矶都重演。

“People don’t realize how toxic that ash is,” said Wong, who is operating a mobile medical clinic out of a church parking lot in Pasadena.

Wong说：“人们没有意识到Ash是如何有毒的。”

Wildfires expose people to particulates like soot, and larger particles like ash, which can cause a range of adverse health effects. Soot and other fine particles, known as PM2.5, can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, causing asthma, heart disease and thousands of premature deaths each year.

野火使人们暴露于烟灰等颗粒物，以及较大的颗粒，例如灰烬，这会引起一系列不良的健康影响。烟灰和其他细颗粒（称为PM2.5）可以渗透到肺部深处并进入血液，每年引起哮喘，心脏病和成千上万的早期死亡。

Urban fires can also introduce heavy metals, asbestos, lead and other gases into the air. Smoke and ash from urban wildfires contain more toxic chemicals, compared to forest fires, because of the hazardous chemicals that permeate common household products such as electronics, plastics, insulation and metals. The burning of all these materials creates a powerful toxic brew.

城市大火还可以将重金属，石棉，铅和其他气体引入空中。与森林大火相比，城市野火中的烟雾和灰烬含有更多的有毒化学物质，因为渗透到电子，塑料，绝缘和金属等危险化学物质。所有这些材料的燃烧产生了强大的有毒啤酒。

How to protect yourself

如何保护自己

In the aftermath of an urban wildfire, personal protective equipment serves as a primary barrier against direct exposure to ash, soot, fine particles and gases released by hazardous materials burned in the fires.

在城市野火之后，个人防护设备是主要障碍，可直接暴露于灰烬，烟灰，细颗粒和气体，该灾害被燃烧在火灾中的危险材料释放出来。

Walking through burned areas can kick up settled soot and other toxic particles, which can enter the body through inhalation, eyes and skin.

穿过燃烧的区域可以踢出沉降的烟灰和其他有毒的颗粒，这些烟灰可以通过吸入，眼睛和皮肤进入身体。

In recent weeks, Direct Relief, a nonprofit humanitarian medical organization, has handed out thousands of reentry kits in Los Angeles and more than 2 million N95 masks. Kits, like the one Ingram received, include white coveralls, gloves, goggles, boot covers and N95 masks. N95 masks and respirators offer better protection than surgical or cloth masks, which won’t catch fine particles.

最近几周，非营利组织的人道主义医学组织Direct Relief已在洛杉矶和超过200万个N95口罩中分发了数千套重新进入套件。像Ingram收到的一个套件一样，包括白色的负责人，手套，护目镜，靴子盖和N95口罩。 N95口罩和呼吸器比手术或布面具提供更好的保护，这不会捕获细颗粒。

Particles and ash can cling to clothing and pose an additional exposure route. Avoid reusing N95 masks and always clean protective clothing before reusing.

颗粒和灰烬可以紧贴衣服，并构成额外的曝光路线。避免重复使用N95口罩，并在重复使用之前始终清洁防护服。

“It might be blue skies, the fire’s out and the risk seems to be gone, but just sifting through belongings, that’s going to expose a person to pretty high particulate matter,” said Alycia Clark, Direct Relief’s vice president and chief pharmacy officer.

直接救济副总裁兼首席药房官Alycia Clark说：“这可能是蓝天，大火熄灭，风险似乎消失了，但是只要筛选物品，这将使一个人面临相当高的颗粒物。”

Wong said that she has seen a number of patients with respiratory complications and other symptoms in the days after the fires. Many of her patients were unaware of the importance of wearing protective gear.

黄说，在大火后的几天里，她已经看到许多患有呼吸并发症和其他症状的患者。她的许多患者不知道穿防护装备的重要性。

“There are so many toxic chemicals, particles in the air that we can’t see,” Wong said.

Wong说：“有很多有毒化学物质，空气中的颗粒，我们看不到。”

How to clean your home

如何打扫房屋

In the home, toxic particles can be deposited on floors, walls, fabrics and other surfaces. It’s important to clean debris in a way that doesn’t further expose you to hazardous chemicals. The first step before entering a fire-damaged home to clean is to put on protective gear to curb inhalation risks and exposure through the skin and eyes.

在家庭中，有毒颗粒可以沉积在地板，墙壁，织物和其他表面上。重要的是要以一种不会进一步暴露于危险化学物质的方式清洁碎屑。进入遭受火灾损坏的房屋清洁之前的第一步是戴上防护装备，以遏制吸入风险和通过皮肤和眼睛曝光。

Vulnerable individuals including children and people who have preexisting conditions, are older or who are pregnant should not participate in cleanup activities.

包括儿童和已经存在的疾病，年龄较大或怀孕的人在内的弱势个人不应参加清理活动。

Delphine Farmer, a professor of chemistry at Colorado State University, suggests opening a window to help diffuse particles stirred up by cleaning.

科罗拉多州立大学化学教授Delphine Farmer建议打开一个窗户，以帮助通过清洁散布颗粒。

If the air outside is still smoky, you can create a “clean air room” by sealing off a room and running an HVAC unit or using an air filter, said Laura Kate Bender, assistant vice president of nationwide healthy air at the American Lung Association. Then repeat

美国肺肺部健康空气助理副总裁Laura Kate Bender说，如果外面的空气仍然烟熏，您可以通过密封房间并运行HVAC单元或使用空气过滤器来创建一个“干净的空气室”。 。然后重复