Burned to the Earth – Poetry of Science

Between the ashes
and the sun standard,
Still traces of pain –
Scattered metal
The skin that passes through the earth,
The poison of silence
Etched by invisible hands.
Wind belt residue
Problems solved
When the flame shakes
Carving a road
Through the skin of the soil,
Immerse into the root thread
That desire doesn’t know.
On the hollow ground,
Residue waiting –
fail
It found its own way
Enter the bone water,
Can’t see,
But it’s very heavy.

The poem was inspired by recent research that found wildfire inhibitors contain toxic metals.

In the western United States, wildfires have become increasingly frequent and severe, increasing the use of inhibitory inhibitory products such as long-term flame retardants, water enhancers and grade A foam. These products are essential for controlling wildfires, but their formulations are often protected by trade secrets, making it difficult to fully understand their environmental impacts. After wildfires, higher levels of metal were found in soil and surface waters, especially near areas where wilderness is consistent with urban development. This is often associated with burnt vegetation or polluted ash in nearby cities. However, the role of inhibitory products in promoting these metal concentrations is largely ignored.

The study examined the concentration of metals in several fire suppression products, including products approved by the United States Forest Services and other products available for consumer use. It found that long-term flame retardants contain toxic metals such as lead, arsenic and cadmium, which have levels 2,880 times higher than those allowed in drinking water. These concentrations may also exceed the safety threshold for aquatic lifespan, posing a risk to local ecosystems when released to the environment. In contrast, reinforced water and Class A foam have lower metal concentrations. The study estimates that between 2009 and 2021, approximately 380,000 kilograms of toxic metal were introduced through the use of fire-fire retardant in the United States, and these findings highlight the need for higher transparency to the content of fire-suppressing products and reassess their environmental impacts.