Rehabilitating #Lahaina

After #Hawaii’s worst wildfire killed scores of people in August, local and federal agencies are reckoning with the #ToxicChemicals created when a #BuiltEnvironment burns

By Travis Hartman, Adolfo Arranz, Sudev Kiyada and Simon Scarr
Published Oct. 25, 2023

"In the case of Lahaina, the age of the building helps cleanup crews determine which ruined plots might be more dangerous than others. Older structures were more likely to have used #asbestos, for example - a cancer-causing insulation material now banned in construction. The plantation-era wooden structures from the early to mid 1900s, which fueled the fire’s rapid spread through the town, might have used timber coated in poisonous #arsenic to ward away insects and rot.

"The everyday objects and materials that populate an average U.S. household generally pose no threat. But when #plastic materials, lead pipes, outdated insulation, treated wood or #batteries are engulfed by fire, they can change dramatically for the worse."

Read more:
https://www.reuters.com/graphics/HAWAII-WILDFIRE/CLEANUP/egpbmemanvq/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us

#Wildfires #Environment #Pollution #ClimateCrisis