Pseudo-Outbreak of Antimony Toxicity in Firefighters—Florida, 2009

Details

• Journal Article:
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Personal Author:
  Caldwell, K. ; De Perio, Marie A. ; Durgam, Srinivas ; Eisenberg, Judith S. ; Kawamoto, Melody M.
• Description:
  Antimony oxides, in combination with halogens, have been used as flame retardants in textiles since the 1960s. Uniforms made from fabric containing antimony are common among the estimated 1.1 million firefighters in the United States. In October 2008, CDC received a report from the fire chief of a fire department in Florida (fire department A) regarding an outbreak of antimony toxicity among 30 firefighters who had elevated antimony levels detected in hair samples. This report summarizes the ensuing health hazard evaluation conducted by CDC to determine the source of antimony exposure. In February 2009, CDC administered questionnaires to and collected urine samples from two groups of firefighters: 20 firefighters from fire department A who did not wear pants made from antimony-containing fabric, and 42 firefighters from fire department B (also located in Florida) who did. All 20 firefighters from fire department A and 41 (98%) from fire department B had urine antimony concentrations below or within the laboratory reference range. CDC concluded that wearing pants made from antimony-containing fabric was not associated with elevated levels of urinary antimony. Only validated methods (e.g., urine testing) should be used for the determination of antimony toxicity. Accurate and timely risk communication during suspected workplace exposures should underscore the importance of using validated tests, thereby refuting an unproven hypothesis, allaying unsubstantiated concerns, and enhancing public trust. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Antimony Emergency Responders Environmental Monitoring Firefighters Fires Flame Retardants Metals, Heavy Occupational Health Safety Urine
• Keywords:
  Emergency-responders Exposure-assessment Fire-fighters Fire-fighting-equipment Fire-protection-equipment Flame-retardants Heavy-metals Region-4 Urinalysis
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• ISSN:
  0149-2195 (print) ; 1545-861X (digital)
• Publisher:
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (U.S.)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Florida ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  3 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Bernard, Bruce P. ; Page, Elena H. ; Hales, Thomas R. ; Evans, S. ; Clark, J. ; Toennis, C.
• Volume:
  58
• Issue:
  46
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20036140
• Citation:
  MMWR 2009 Nov; 58(46):1300-1302
• CAS Registry Number:
  Antimony (CAS RN 7440-36-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3dfda607cde04db4eb588e896f8af861bbcdcf7d4ff83d0be6e9c4802e2f3b585a8c6089f3999f507e19270c71ef00235c5ab0c4506409501e368473b9347141
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/183268/cdc_183268_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 118.51 KB ]