Dangerous Chemical From LA Fires May Have Reached 3.3 Million People

Scientists at the University of California have made a scary discovery about the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires. They found that a dangerous chemical called hexavalent chromium spread far from the fire areas. This toxic substance may have reached more than 3 million people in Los Angeles County. The chemical traveled up to nine miles away from where the Palisades and Eaton fires burned.

Michael Jerrett works as a professor at UCLA and helped write this study. He explains that hexavalent chromium is also called chromium-6. This chemical is very harmful to people and can cause cancer. It can hurt people's lungs and make them sick with asthma, breathing problems, and lung cancer.

The study shows something very worrying about what happened after the fires ended. Tiny particles called nanoparticles were still floating in the air around the burned areas. These particles are so small they can get into people's blood very quickly. Scientists found that these dangerous particles gave people doses that were hundreds of times higher than normal levels in Los Angeles air.

The research was published in a scientific journal called 'Nature Communications Earth & Environment.' Other scientists checked the work to make sure it was correct. The study found that the dangerous chromium was still in the air two months after the fires ended. This means people were breathing in harmful chemicals long after the flames were put out.

Michael Kleeman led this study and teaches at UC Davis. He says finding these chromium particles in wildfire cleanup areas is something new and unusual. The levels they found were lower than what workers are allowed to be around at their jobs. However, they were higher than what the government says is safe for indoor air at home.