As rescue teams battle the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, the internet is filled with images of mansions burning, trees falling on cars and flames raging in their wake. Other images have also emerged of tankers dumping bright red and pink dust over the suburbs, staining entire neighborhoods. The eye-catching substance, a popular fire retardant, is now a common sight in the area, covering driveways, roofs and cars.
Authorities have said thousands of liters of the substance were dumped in the last week to stop the spread of the flames. But what exactly does it contain and how does it help fight forest fires?
The retardant is called Phos-Chek, a product sold by a company called Perimeter and which has been used to fight fires in the US since 1963. It is the primary long-term fire retardant used by the Department of Forestry and Protection California Fire Rescue. It is also the most widely used retardant in the world, according to a 2022 report by the Associated Press.
The exact formula of Phos-Chek is not public knowledge, but the company has said in previous presentations that the product is 80% water, 14% fertilizer-type salts and 6% coloring agents and corrosion inhibitors.
Houses, trees and roads on Old Ranch Road near Murphy Ranch are covered in Phos-Chek, the pink liquid from Air Tanker drops that prevents wildfire spread. pic.twitter.com/kmgjYrTao7
— Oliya Scootercaster (@ScooterCasterNY) January 10, 2025
As for its color, the company said it is “a visual aid for pilots and firefighters alike.” After a few days of exposure to sunlight, the color fades to earth tones, he explained. Retardant is usually sprayed around a wildfire on vegetation and land that is prone to fires to prevent flames from spreading to that area.
According to the US Forest Service, retardants “slow the rate of spread by cooling and coating fuels, depleting oxygen from the fire, and slowing the rate of combustion of materials as the inorganic salts in the retardant change the way they burn.” “that fuels are burned.”
Dangerous to the environment
However, its use has been controversial in the past due to its possible effects on the environment. A lawsuit filed in 2022 by Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, an organization made up of current and former U.S. Forest Service employees, accused the federal agency of violating the country’s clean water laws by dumping fire retardants. chemicals from airplanes over the forests. At the time it was argued that the chemical can kill fish and is not effective.
The following year, a U.S. district judge agreed with the employees, but in her ruling allowed the Forest Service to continue using the retardant while it seeks a permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). in English).
The case drew attention to communities devastated by wildfires in the past, including the city of Paradise, California, which was destroyed by fire in 2018. Its then-mayor, Greg Bolin, praised the judge’s decision and said it ensures that communities “have a fighting chance” against fires.
The Forest Service also has a mandatory ban on dumping fire retardants in environmentally sensitive areas, such as waterways and endangered species habitats. However, there are exceptions to the ban in cases “where human life or public safety is threatened.”
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