Between the fall of ashes
and solar scales,
a bitter trace remains –
scattered metals
Threaded in the skin of the earth,
Silent come
recorded by invisible hands.
The wind carries remains
of what was established
When you flames them hesitated,
Carving a path
Through soil skin,
leaked in root floors
That thirst without knowing.
On hollow floor,
The waste awaits –
not consputable
Find your way
In bone water,
invisible,
However, heavy.
This poem is inspired by Recent researchwhich has found that forest fire suppressors contain toxic metals.
Forest fires are increasingly frequent and severe in the American west, which leads to greater use of fire extinction products, such as long -term fire retardants, water potentiators and class A foams. These products are essential to control forest fires, but their formulations are often protected as commercial secrets, which makes it difficult to understand their environmental impact. After forest fires, higher levels of metals have been detected in soils and surface waters, particularly close to areas where the desert meets urban development. This has generally been linked to the ashes of burned vegetation or contamination of nearby cities. However, the role of fire suppression products to contribute to these metal concentrations has greatly overlook.
This research examined metal concentrations in various fire suppression products, including those approved by the US forest service. UU. And others available for consumer use. He found that long -term fire retardants contained toxic metals, such as lead, arsenic and cadmium, at levels up to 2,880 times higher than is allowed in drinking water. These concentrations could also exceed security thresholds for aquatic life, which represents a risk for local ecosystems when they are released in the environment. In contrast, water potentiators and class A foams contained lower metal concentrations. The study estimated that between 2009 and 2021, approximately 380,000 kilograms of toxic metals were introduced into the environment through the use of fire retardants in the US. UU. These findings highlight the need for greater transparency over the content of fire suppression products and a reevaluation of their environmental impact.
#Burned #Earth
