December 2023
We did it! Thank you for your interest and/or participating in the University of Arizona’s Rethinking Wildfires, Floods, and Health Project sponsored by the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the University of Arizona’s College of Agriculture, Life, and Environmental Sciences. Together, we have educated and trained 36 residents on environmental monitoring methods and collected soil samples from 86 nonresidential (including control sites) and 36 household locations, totaling 615 soil and 72 dust samples! Household soil and/or dust samples were analyzed for the following potential contaminants: (1) Heavy metals and metalloids, (2) Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and/or (3) Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Nonresidential soil samples at three separate depths were analyzed for: (1) Heavy metals and metalloids, (2) PAH, and (3) Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds.
In addition, we also recruited local community members and leaders and built the “Cobre Valley Community Environmental Advisory Board” (CV-CEAB). The CV-CEAB’s role is to oversee project specifics, raise community awareness, and help guide data sharing methods and strategies. To see Board members, click here.
Items to keep in mind:
- This is a scientific research project. Therefore, the analytical methods were informed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s standard methods, but modifications may have been made.
- Data may be subject to revisions. The results have been internally reviewed, but have not undergone external peer review and may be subjected to minor changes.
- Metals occur naturally in the environment. While we can measure the level of a metal in certain substances, like water or soil, it is difficult to know the original source of the metal.
- Single exposure measurements are “snapshots in time”. We are measuring concentrations at a single point in time. Measuring concentrations with a single sampling does not establish what the exposures were in the past or what they may be in the future.
- We want to emphasize that this is an exploratory study, designed to measure levels of contaminants in a sample of local community locations and households. All measurements reported here are for research only and not for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of any disease. Based on results from national studies, we know that we all have various chemicals in our homes and in our bodies. For many of these contaminants, there has not been enough research conducted to make any specific predictions about potential health risks. On the explore results page, we have also included information about the possible sources of exposure and health concerns as well as websites that can provide additional information for the contaminants measured in this study.
We are so very excited to share the data with you all! To explore the results, please visit: https://explore.wildfirefloodhealth.arizona.edu/