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The Environmental Health Nanoscience and Advanced Materials Center (NAMC) at the Rutgers Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute received grants from the National Science Foundation and the UL Chemical Insights Research Institute.

Philip Demokritou, Henry Rutgers Chair and professor in nanoscience and environmental bioengineering at the Rutgers School of Public Health and director of the Rutgers Environmental Health Nanoscience and Advanced Materials Center and Jose Guillermo Cedeño Laurent, assistant professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health and director of the Rutgers Climate Adaptive and Restorative Environments Lab, will lead this research.

One emerging area of interest due to expanding urbanization is the wildland-urban interface fires. Wildland-urban interface fires are likely to burn both biomass and human-made structures simultaneously. The particulate matter generated from such fires may differ substantially from that produced from pure biomass fires or from urban background particulate matter such as traffic related particulate matter, both in the physicochemical properties and potential health hazards. 

Approximately 50 million homes in the U.S. are located within these areas, with roughly 1 million new homes being built every three years in such wildland-urban interface areas. Thus, as the frequency and extent of wildfires increases, so will the incidence of human inhalation exposures to particulate matter and toxic gaseous compounds from wildland-urban interface fires. More importantly, the aftermath of a wildland-urban interface fire is equally concerning. These fires leave behind toxic ash from burned homes, vehicles and other human-made structures. This ash, often in the form of fine dust, settles on streets and sidewalks, infiltrates indoor spaces and can become airborne, posing a risk of inhalation in the aftermath of a fire. It can also be transported to surface waters, leading to significant environmental pollution. 

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(Source: Rutgers Today – August 19, 2025)