Firefighters exposed to more potentially harmful chemicals than
previously thought

Date:
August 20, 2020
Source:
Oregon State University
Summary:
On-duty firefighters experienced higher exposures of polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, which are a family of chemicals
that are known to have the potential to cause cancer.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A new Oregon State University study suggests that firefighters are more
likely to be exposed to potentially harmful chemicals while on duty
compared to off duty.


==========================================================================
The on-duty firefighters in the Kansas City, Missouri, area experienced
higher exposures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, which
are a family of chemicals that are known to have the potential to cause
cancer. They were also exposed to 18 PAHs that have not been previously reported as firefighting exposures in earlier research.

The study, funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is published
in the journal Environment International.

The results are important because previous studies have shown that
firefighters have an increased risk of developing cancer and other
damaging health effects, said study lead Kim Anderson, an environmental
chemist and Extension specialist in OSU's College of Agricultural
Sciences.

PAHs are a large group of chemical compounds that contain carbon and
other elements. They form naturally after almost any type of combustion,
both natural and human-created. In addition to burning wood, plants and tobacco, PAHs are also in fossil fuels.

"We don't have enough data to profile the source of the PAHs, but we know
PAHs appear from combustion, and obviously combustion is their work,"
Anderson said.

"They are also putting on a heavy load of protective gear that has PAHs,
and they use cleaning products that have PAHs." The firefighters in the
study wore personal passive samplers in the shape of a military-style
dog tag made of silicone on an elastic necklace. The tags are made of
the same material as OSU's patented silicone wristbands that Anderson's
lab has been using for several years to study chemical exposure in humans
and cats.



==========================================================================
This study demonstrates that the dog tags, which absorb chemicals from
the air and skin, appear to be a reliable sampling technology necessary
for assessing chemical exposures in firefighters, Anderson said.

"I'm quite confident those exposures existed but if you don't have
something to help you find them you don't know for sure," Anderson
said. "Certainly, we found that it's a lot more than what people
had thought." For their study, the researchers sampled individual firefighters' exposures at two departments -- the Raytown Fire Protection District and Southern Platte Fire Protection District. They defined the
Raytown department as a "high call volume" department, with a historic
average of 12 fire calls per month, and the Southern Platte department as
"low call volume," with less than two calls per month historically.

After completing a survey on demographics, occupational history, and
suspected current exposures, the recruited firefighters wore a dog tag
during the next 30 on- and off-shift days. During fire calls, tags
were worn over clothing but underneath their gear. The firefighters
were instructed to wear the dog tags continuously during all regular activities, including eating, showering and sleeping. Sampling occurred
from November 2018 to April 2019.

When they analyzed the dog tags that were returned to Anderson's lab
at Oregon State, 45 unique PAHs, of which 18 have not been previously
reported as firefighting exposures, were detected. PAH exposures
increased as the number of fires a participant responded to increased. PAH concentrations were not only higher when on-duty compared to off-duty,
but also higher from the high call volume department compared to the
low call volume department.

Each of the participating firefighters has been provided a report on
their basic health information and chemical exposure, Anderson said. The participants also received a fact sheet about firefighters and cancer
risk. The fact sheet includes some simple steps firefighters can take
to reduce their exposure to harmful chemicals, such as always wearing
their personal protective equipment, taking a shower after each fire
and before ending their shift, and cleaning their gear after every fire.

Anderson directs the Food Safety and Environmental Stewardship Program in
OSU's College of Agricultural Sciences. She co-founded MyExposome Inc.,
a start-up company that is marketing the silicone wristbands.

Co-authors on the study were Carolyn Poutasse, Peter Hoffman, Christopher Haddock and Lane Tidwell -- all members of Anderson's lab -- and Walker S.

Carlos Poston and Sara Jahnke, both of the Center for Fire, Rescue and
EMS Health Research in Leewood, Kansas.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Oregon_State_University. Original
written by Chris Branam. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Carolyn M. Poutasse, Walker S.C. Poston, Sara A. Jahnke,
Christopher K.

Haddock, Lane G. Tidwell, Peter D. Hoffman, Kim
A. Anderson. Discovery of firefighter chemical exposures using
military-style silicone dog tags.

Environment International, 2020; 142: 105818 DOI: 10.1016/
j.envint.2020.105818 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200820164206.htm

--- up 5 weeks, 1 day, 1 hour, 55 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1337:3/111)