Urban wildfires in Los Angeles have highlighted the increased risk of soil lead exposure, especially for young children, and the current approach to mitigating this risk in L.A. does not accurately reflect the current understanding of risks to children from lead, according to a new commentary published in Nature from researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, who are part of the LA Fire HEALTH Study Consortium.  

This fact sheet from the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health summarizes the findings from the Nature commentary and provides recommendations for what families can do to prevent lead exposure in the wake of the fires.