PAH contamination of firefighter protective clothing and cleaning effectiveness

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in firefighter protective clothing used under different conditions (fire suppression operations and live-fire enclosure simulations). Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (UHPLC/FL) was applied to determine PAH content in the outer shell, moisture barrier (membrane), and thermal barrier layers of protective clothing. Analysis involved eight PAHs, with the total PAH concentration being strongly dependent on use conditions and clothing layer. The PAH concentration in clothing worn during fire suppression (43 ± 16–63 ± 26 μg g−1) was approx. 10–12 times higher as compared to that in clothing worn during live-fire simulation (4.0 ± 1.1–5.4 ± 1.4 μg g−1). The highest total PAH content (84 ± 41 μg g−1) was found in the membrane of clothing worn during fire suppression (approx. 50 times greater than in the case of live-fire simulation – 1.6 ± 0.99 μg g−1). Cleaning with the use of machine washing removed a considerable part of PAH contamination, with cleaning effectiveness ranging from 79 ± 14% for the outer shell, 63 ± 25% for the membrane to 58 ± 14% for the thermal barrier. Furthermore, in firefighter protective clothing worn during fire suppression operations higher PAH concentrations were detected in samples from the knee region as compared to those from the sleeves.