Characterization of inhalation exposures at a wildfire incident during the Wildland Firefighter Exposure and Health Effects (WFFEHE) Study.

Wildland firefighters (WFFs) are exposed to many inhalation hazards working in the wildland fire environment. To assess occupational exposures and acute and subacute health effects among WFFs, the wildland firefighter exposure and health effects study collected data for a 2-year repeated measures st...

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Publicado en:Annals of Work Exposures & Health Vol. 67; no. 8; pp. 1011 - 1018
Autores principales: Navarro, Kathleen M, Fent, Kenneth, Mayer, Alexander C, Brueck, Scott E, Toennis, Christine, Law, Brandon, Meadows, Juliana, Sammons, Deborah, Brown, Skylar
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Oxford University Press / USA Oct2023
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Oct2023
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      pub: Oxford University Press / USA
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        10.1093/annweh/wxad046
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        atl: Characterization of inhalation exposures at a wildfire incident during the Wildland Firefighter Exposure and Health Effects (WFFEHE) Study.
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          Navarro, Kathleen M
          Fent, Kenneth
          Mayer, Alexander C
          Brueck, Scott E
          Toennis, Christine
          Law, Brandon
          Meadows, Juliana
          Sammons, Deborah
          Brown, Skylar
        affil: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Western States Division , P.O. Box 25226, Denver, CO 80225-0226 , United States
      sug:
        subj:
          Wildfires
          Firefighters Psychosocial Factors
          Inhalation Exposure Adverse Effects
          Occupational Exposure Adverse Effects
          Human
          Environmental Monitoring
          Air Analysis
          Smoke Adverse Effects
          Occupational Hazards
          Adverse Health Care Event Risk Factors
          Risk Assessment
          Biological Markers Urine
      ab: Wildland firefighters (WFFs) are exposed to many inhalation hazards working in the wildland fire environment. To assess occupational exposures and acute and subacute health effects among WFFs, the wildland firefighter exposure and health effects study collected data for a 2-year repeated measures study. This manuscript describes the exposure assessment from one Interagency Hotshot Crew (N = 19) conducted at a wildfire incident. Exposures to benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene isomers, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and naphthalene were measured through personal air sampling each work shift. Biological monitoring was done for creatinine-adjusted levoglucosan in urine pre- and post-shift. For 3 days sampling at the wildfire incident, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene isomers (m and p, and o) exposure was highest on day 1 (geometric mean [GM] = 0.015, 0.042, 0.10, 0.42, and 0.15 ppm, respectively) when WFFs were not exposed to smoke but used chainsaws to remove vegetation and prepare fire suppression breaks. Exposure to formaldehyde and acetaldehyde was highest on day 2 (GM = 0.03 and 0.036 ppm, respectively) when the WFFs conducted a firing operation and were directly exposed to wildfire smoke. The greatest difference of pre- and post-shift levoglucosan concentrations were observed on day 3 (pre-shift: 9.7 and post-shift: 47 μg/mg creatinine) after WFFs conducted mop up (returned to partially burned area to extinguish any smoldering vegetation). Overall, 65% of paired samples (across all sample days) showed a post-shift increase in urinary levoglucosan and 5 firefighters were exposed to benzene at concentrations at or above the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommended exposure limit. Our findings further demonstrate that exposure to inhalation hazards is one of many risks that wildland firefighters experience while suppressing wildfires.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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