Wildfire Smoke Is Always Toxic. LA’s Is Even Worse.
It is extraordinarily rare to see wildfires penetrate an American city, but that’s exactly what happened in Los Angeles, the nation’s second-largest metropolis. Burning trees and shrubs produce very fine particulate matter, but these wildfires are a public health hazard with a dangerous mix of chemicals, from plastics and gasoline to asbestos and lead — materials used in many buildings constructed before the 1970s.
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