Sponsor
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. 2439020 and National Science Foundation Grant No. 2445545. EL was supported by the National Institutes of Health’s Bridges to Baccalaureate Training Program under award number T34GM147664 at Portland State University in cooperation with Portland Community College and Clackamas Community College and the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission, PSU College Access Program 23-033-G.
Published In
Environmental Science & Technology Letters
Document Type
Pre-Print
Publication Date
2-14-2026
Subjects
Indoor Air Quality, Volatile organic compound (VOC) -- emissions, Wildland-urban interface fires
Abstract
We quantify volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from indoor surface swabs and portable air cleaner (PAC) filters collected in a home 30 days after the 2025 Los Angeles wildland-urban interface (WUI) fires. We calculate emissions for 17 fire-relevant compounds. Surface emissions exceeded those of clean controls, and emissions from a windowsill in a room without a PAC were ∼15× and ∼2× higher for benzene and toluene, respectively, than rates reported in the literature for comparable materials unaffected by smoke/soot. Particle filters installed in PACs at the start of the fire emitted aromatics at rates comparable to those reported in a study where filters operated for 200 days in a city. Emissions from activated carbon filters exceeded those of the particle filters tested as part of the present study by >3×. A windowsill in a room without a PAC off-gassed more VOC mass than a windowsill in a room with a PAC, suggesting that air cleaners can reduce surface contamination. Modeling with benzene emission rates from impacted surfaces in a hypothetical indoor space resulted in a predicted indoor concentration ∼6× greater than outdoors. This study shows surfaces act as persistent VOC sources following WUI fires and indicates indoor surfaces affect exposure during and after fire events.
Rights
© 2026 The Authors.
Locate the Document
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.5c01015
DOI
10.1021/acs.estlett.5c01015
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/44521
Citation Details
Published as: Stinson, B. W., Lei, E., & Gall, E. T. (2026). Characterizing Indoor Surface VOC Contamination after the 2025 Los Angeles Fires. Environmental Science & Technology Letters.
Description
This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published as: (2026). Characterizing Indoor Surface VOC Contamination after the 2025 Los Angeles Fires. Environmental Science & Technology Letters.