Firefighters' multiple exposure assessments in practice

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Environmental Science
• Toxicology

Background:

• Firefighter training involves exposure to complex chemical mixtures from smoke.
• Multi-route exposure and potential synergistic effects of smoke chemicals require updated biomonitoring guidelines.
• Previous assessments have not fully accounted for additive and synergistic chemical impacts in simulators.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess smoke exposure levels in conventional and modern firefighter simulators using biomonitoring and occupational hygiene methods.
• To establish biological action limit values (BALs) for 1-hydroxypyrene in different simulator types.
• To evaluate the additive and synergistic health effects of key airborne compounds during fire suppression simulations.

Main Methods:

• Utilized biomonitoring of 1-hydroxypyrene and occupational hygienic measurements.
• Determined exposure levels in conventional and modern smoke simulators.
• Calculated BALs for 1-hydroxypyrene and assessed additive/synergistic effects of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Main Results:

• Dermal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was significant, potentially delaying the excretion of 1-hydroxypyrene and 1-naphthol.
• Established BALs for 1-hydroxypyrene were 6 nmol/L for conventional simulators and 53 nmol/L for modern simulators.
• Conventional simulators exhibited 6.5 to 7.0-fold higher combined health risks (cancer, eye, respiratory irritation) from VOCs compared to modern simulators.

Conclusions:

• Modern firefighter simulators offer a significantly safer training environment with reduced chemical exposure and health risks.
• Biomonitoring data indicates dermal absorption plays a role in PAH exposure and affects excretion kinetics.
• Updated safety standards and biomonitoring recommendations are crucial for protecting firefighters from simulator-induced exposures.