Aerial fire suppressants are generally a mixture of water, ammonium phosphate — essentially fertilizer — and iron oxide, which is added to make the retardant visible, said Daniel McCurry, a ...

As fire crews and air tankers work to block the wildfires' explosive growth, images of red clouds of fire retardant falling onto trees are common. What is it — and what's in it?

So, what's in it? "It's basically a mixture of water, fertilizer, and then the red color that you see is just rust," McCurry ...

Aerial fire suppressants are generally a mixture of water, ammonium phosphate — essentially fertilizer — and iron oxide, which is added to make the retardant visible, said Daniel McCurry, a ...

Daniel McCurry, author of the Perspective accompanying the study, says, “Unfortunately, we have no idea yet how toxic [the] chloronitramide ion is, ...

Aerial fire suppressants are generally a mixture of water, ammonium phosphate — essentially fertilizer — and iron oxide, which is added to make the retardant visible, said Daniel McCurry, a ...

McCurry, from USC, said he and other researchers tested several suppressants and found heavy metals, including chromium and cadmium, in one commonly used by the U.S. Forest Service.