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

SUBMITTER: Fent KW 

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

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature