Evaluation of Interventions to Reduce Firefighter Exposures
Jefferey L Burgess1, Christiane Hoppe-Jones, Stephanie C Griffin
1Department of Community, Environment and Policy, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (Dr Burgess, Dr Griffin, Ms Littau, Ms Dearmon-Moore, Ms Garavito); Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (Dr Hoppe-Jones, Mr Beitel, Ms Flahr, Dr Snyder); Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (Dr Zhou, Dr Zhai, Ms Jung); Tucson Fire Department, Tucson, Arizona (Captain Gulotta, Deputy Chief Wallentine, Deputy Chief Moore); Scottsdale Fire Department, Scottsdale, Arizona (Assistant Fire Chief Valliere, Captain Weller).
Objective:
Evaluate the effectiveness of firefighter exposure reduction interventions.
Methods:
Fireground interventions included use of self-contained breathing apparatus by engineers, entry team wash down, contaminated equipment isolation, and personnel showering and washing of gear upon return to station. Urinary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites (PAH-OHs) were measured after structural fire responses before and after intervention implementation. Separately, infrared sauna use following live-fire training was compared to standard postfire care in a randomized trial.
Results:
The fireground interventions significantly reduced mean total urinary postfire PAH-OHs in engineers (-40.4%, 95%CI -63.9%, -2.3%) and firefighters (-36.2%, 95%CI -56.7%, -6.0%) but not captains (-11.3% 95%CI -39.4%, 29.9%). Sauna treatment non-significantly reduced total mean PAH-OHs by -43.5% (95%CI -68.8%, 2.2%).
Conclusions:
The selected fireground interventions reduced urinary PAH-OHs in engineers and firefighters. Further evaluation of infrared sauna treatment is needed.
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