DoomsdaysCW<p>Rehabilitating <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Lahaina" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Lahaina</span></a></p><p>After <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Hawaii" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Hawaii</span></a>’s worst wildfire killed scores of people in August, local and federal agencies are reckoning with the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ToxicChemicals" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ToxicChemicals</span></a> created when a <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BuiltEnvironment" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BuiltEnvironment</span></a> burns</p><p>By Travis Hartman, Adolfo Arranz, Sudev Kiyada and Simon Scarr<br>Published Oct. 25, 2023</p><p>"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 <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/asbestos" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>asbestos</span></a>, 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 <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/arsenic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>arsenic</span></a> to ward away insects and rot.</p><p>"The everyday objects and materials that populate an average U.S. household generally pose no threat. But when <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/plastic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>plastic</span></a> materials, lead pipes, outdated insulation, treated wood or <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/batteries" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>batteries</span></a> are engulfed by fire, they can change dramatically for the worse."</p><p>Read more:<br><a href="https://www.reuters.com/graphics/HAWAII-WILDFIRE/CLEANUP/egpbmemanvq/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">reuters.com/graphics/HAWAII-WI</span><span class="invisible">LDFIRE/CLEANUP/egpbmemanvq/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us</span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Wildfires" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Wildfires</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Environment" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Environment</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Pollution" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Pollution</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ClimateCrisis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateCrisis</span></a></p>