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By Jorge Garcia
PASADENA, California (Reuters) -In early January, Tony and Jacqueline Collier watched on helplessly as the Eaton wildfire burned dozens of homes to the ground in their neighborhood of Altadena, California.
Their own property is still standing, although the interior is severely damaged. The couple visit their home once a week and are worried about pollutants in the air.
"The trucks come by 10 times back and forth, sometimes uncovered. And our house has been cleaned twice, but we still have soot and ash. So we know that the debris is coming off the trucks. It's very dangerous," 64-year-old Jacqueline Collier told Reuters.
In response to widespread concerns about harmful contaminants in smoke, ash, and debris, LA County Public Health is offering free blood-testing for lead at sites near wildfire burn zones in Altadena and Pacific Palisades.
Jacqueline Collier said she did not hesitate to sign up for the blood test in Pasadena, given her pre-existing health conditions.
Her husband Tony hopes the test results will give him peace of mind, noting that "we can't take any chances."
"I've got what I call precious cargo, my wife, my kids, things like that, dog, that I want to make sure that I'm here for them," he said.
Altadena was home to many historical properties that residents say made the city special. Now, piles of burnt rubble still sit idle while clean-up crews work to get rid of the debris.
"We would expect that any home (built) before 1978 does contain some sort of lead paint. So as those homes burned, we know that lead likely entered the environment, whether it be the soil, the air, water," said Los Angeles County Public Health Manager Janet Scully.
Michele Zack, also from Altadena, expressed concern over the toxicity.
"Whenever we go to our house site we usually, even if we're wearing a mask, we don't want to stay there more than an hour or so because we do start coughing and there is a feeling that the site is toxic," said Zack.
Scully said signs of lead poisoning can go unnoticed.
"Some of the symptoms, especially among children, could be stomach aches, irritability, learning disabilities, developmental delays," she added.
The free blood testing will run until August.
(Reporting by Jorge Garcia;Editing by Mary Milliken and Rosalba O'Brien)
