Abstract
There is limited information about wildland firefighters’ exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), being scarce studies that included the impact of tobacco consumption. Thus, this work evaluated the individual and cumulative impacts of firefighting activities and smoking on wildland firefighters’ total exposure to PAHs. Six urinary PAH metabolites (1-hydroxynaphthalene (1OHNaph), 1-hydroxyacenaphthene (1OHAce), 2-hydroxyfluorene (2OHFlu), 1-hydroxyphenanthrene (1OHPhen), 1-hydroxypyrene (1OHPy), and 3-hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene (3OHB[a]P)) were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. Firefighters from three fire stations were characterized and organized in three groups: non-smoking and non-exposed to fire emissions (NSNExp), smoking non-exposed (SNExp), and smoking exposed (SExp) individuals. 1OHNaph+1OHAce were the most predominant OH-PAHs (66–91% ∑OH-PAHs), followed by 2OHFlu (2.8–28%), 1OHPhen (1.3–7%), and 1OHPy (1.4–6%). 3OHB[a]P, the carcinogenicity PAH biomarker, was not detected. Regular consumption of tobacco increased 76–412% ∑OH-PAHs. Fire combat activities promoted significant increments of 158–551% ∑OH-PAHs. 2OHFlu was the most affected compound by firefighting activities (111–1068%), while 1OHNaph+1OHAce presented the more pronounced increments due to tobacco consumption (22–339%); 1OHPhen (76–176%) and 1OHPy (20–220%) were the least influenced ones. OH-PAH levels of SExp firefighters were significantly higher than in other groups, suggesting that these subjects may be more vulnerable to develop and/or aggravate diseases related with PAHs exposure.
Highlights
Human biomonitoring allows assessment of total personal exposure, including environmental and workplace hazardous chemicals, through the analysis of chemicals and/or their metabo-M
The overall Body mass index (BMI) values ranged between 19 kg/m2 (SNExp of VNH and smoking exposed (SExp) of MDL) to 36 kg/m2 (NSNExp of BRG) (Table 1)
Significant differences of BMI levels were observed between non-smoking and non-exposed to fire emissions (NSNExp) (28 kg/m2) and smoking non-exposed (SNExp) (24 kg/m2; p = 0.05) groups, and among NSNExp and SExp subjects (24 kg/m2; p = 0.013)
Summary
Human biomonitoring allows assessment of total personal exposure, including environmental and workplace hazardous chemicals, through the analysis of chemicals and/or their metabo-. M. Oliveira et al / Journal of Hazardous Materials 334 (2017) 10–20 lites in human exhaled air, blood, urine, milk, saliva, nails, hair, faeces, and adipose tissue [1,2]. The use of human biomonitoring is a precious tool as it estimates the total internal dose regardless of the source, route, and duration of the exposure. Occupational exposure of firefighters, i.e. firefighters directly involved in firefighting activities, was classified as a possible carcinogen to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC group 2B; [6]) and the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH; [7]). Exposure to wildfire smoke is being associated with respiratory morbidity with growing evidence supporting an association with all-cause mortality, being consistently related with cardiovascular effects, specific causes of mortality, birth outcomes, and mental health disorders [14]
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