Dataset Information

Firefighters' and instructors' absorption of PAHs and benzene during training exercises.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Training fires may constitute a major portion of some firefighters' occupational exposures to smoke. However, the magnitude and composition of those exposures are not well understood and may vary by the type of training scenario and fuels.

Objectives

To understand how structure fire training contributes to firefighters' and instructors' select chemical exposures, we conducted biological monitoring during exercises involving combustion of pallet and straw and oriented strand board (OSB) or the use of simulated smoke.

Methods

Urine was analyzed for metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and breath was analyzed for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including benzene.

Results

Median concentrations of nearly all PAH metabolites in urine increased from pre-to 3-hr post-training for each scenario and were highest for OSB, followed by pallet and straw, and then simulated smoke. For instructors who supervised three trainings per day, median concentrations increased at each collection. A single day of OSB exercises led to a 30-fold increase in 1-hydroxypyrene for instructors, culminating in a median end-of-shift concentration 3.5-fold greater than median levels measured from firefighters in a previous controlled-residential fire study. Breath concentrations of benzene increased 2 to 7-fold immediately after the training exercises (with the exception of simulated smoke training). Exposures were highest for the OSB scenario and instructors accumulated PAHs with repeated daily exercises.

Conclusions

Dermal absorption likely contributed to the biological levels as the respiratory route was well protected. Training academies should consider exposure risks as well as instructional objectives when selecting training exercises.

SUBMITTER: Fent KW

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8848677 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Firefighters' and instructors' absorption of PAHs and benzene during training exercises.

Fent Kenneth W KW Toennis Christine C Sammons Deborah D Robertson Shirley S Bertke Stephen S Calafat Antonia M AM Pleil Joachim D JD Geer Wallace M Ariel MA Kerber Steve S Smith Denise L DL Horn Gavin P GP

International journal of hygiene and environmental health 20190702 7

<h4>Introduction</h4>Training fires may constitute a major portion of some firefighters' occupational exposures to smoke. However, the magnitude and composition of those exposures are not well understood and may vary by the type of training scenario and fuels.<h4>Objectives</h4>To understand how structure fire training contributes to firefighters' and instructors' select chemical exposures, we conducted biological monitoring during exercises involving combustion of pallet and straw and oriented ...[more]

PMID: 31272797

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Project description:ObjectivesThere is limited knowledge of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in wildland firefighters, or of the effectiveness of interventions to reduce this. This study of wildland firefighters assessed whether PAHs were present and considered respiratory protection and enhanced skin hygiene as possible interventions.Methods1-Hydroxypyrene (1-HP) was measured in urine samples collected pre-shift, post-shift, and next morning from wildland firefighters in Alberta and British Columbia. Skin wipes, collected pre- and post-shift, were analysed for eight PAHs. Breathing zone air samples were analysed for 11 PAHs. As pilot interventions, participants were randomized to either normal or enhanced skin hygiene. A sample of volunteers was assigned to a disposable N95 mask or a half facepiece mask with P100 organic vapour cartridge. Participants completed a brief questionnaire on activities post-shift and respiratory symptoms.ResultsNon-smoking firefighters (66 male and 20 female) were recruited from 11 fire crews. Air sampling pumps were carried for the full shift by 28 firefighters, 25 firefighters wore masks (14 N95 and 11 P100); 42 were assigned to the enhanced skin hygiene intervention. Sixty had hot spotting as their main task. Air monitoring identified PAHs (benzo(b,j,k)fluoranthene in particulates, phenanthrene in the gaseous phase) for 6 of the 11 crews. PAHs (largely naphthalene) were found post-shift on 40/84 skin wipes from the hand and 38/84 from jaw/throat. The mean increase in 1-HP in urine samples collected after the shift (compared with samples collected before the shift) was 66 ng g-1 creatinine (P < 0.001) with an increase over the shift found for 76% of participants. 1-HP in next morning urine samples was significantly lower than at the end of shift (a reduction of 39.3 ng g-1: P < 0.001). The amount of naphthalene on skin wipes was greater at the end of the shift (post) than at the start (pre). The mean post-pre weight difference of naphthalene on skin wipes taken from the hand was 0.96 ng wipe-1 (P = 0.01) and from the jaw/throat 1.28 ng wipe-1 (P = 0.002). The enhanced skin hygiene intervention lead to a larger reduction in 1-HP between end of shift and next morning urine samples but only for those with naphthalene on skin wipes at the end of shift. The difference in 1-HP concentration in urine samples collected before and after the shift was reduced for those wearing a mask (linear tend P = 0.063, one-sided). In multivariable models, 1-HP at end of shift was related to gaseous phase phenanthrene, estimated from air sampling [β = 318.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 67.1-569.2]. Naphthalene on hand skin wipes reflected work in hot spotting during the shift (β = 0.53, 95% CI 0.22-0.86).ConclusionsThis study provided evidence of PAHs in the air and on the skin of many, but not all, fire crew. Absorbed PAHs, reflected in 1-HP in urine, increased over the shift. Results from the pilot interventions suggest that enhanced skin hygiene would reduce absorption post fire where PAHs had been accumulated on the skin, and that masks could be effective in reducing PAH inhalation exposure. Interventions to reduce PAH absorption are supported by the pilot work reported here and warrant further evaluation across a full fire season.

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Dataset Information

Firefighters' and instructors' absorption of PAHs and benzene during training exercises.

Introduction

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Firefighters' and instructors' absorption of PAHs and benzene during training exercises.

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