Firefighters' occupational exposure to carbon monoxide.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Coleman RL ; Sammons JH
• Description:
  Firefighters occupationally exposed to carbon-monoxide (630080) were studied to determine residual carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) and the possibility of myocardial damage. Firefighters were paired by age, weight, race, smoking habits, and family history of cardiovascular disease with members of military reserve units without carbon- monoxide exposure used as comparisons. Blood was drawn at 28 day intervals for 5 months and a CO Oximeter was used to measure COHb. Hemoglobin was also measured. To assess myocardial damage, serum enzymes including total lactic-dehydrogenase (LDH), heat stable lactic-dehydrogenase (stable LDH), creatine-phosphokinase (CPK), and hydroxybutyric-dehydrogenase (HBD) were analyzed. Test and comparison hemoglobins were about the same. Nonsmoking firefighters had a mean COHb of 5.0 percent compared with 2.3 percent for comparisons. Members of the fire department had higher LDH, stable LDH, HBD, and enzyme values than their comparison counterparts. All values except for COHb generally fell within normal ranges. The authors conclude that the nonsmoking firefighter, by virtue of his occupation, has already reached a maximum safe COHb saturation, since 5 percent is the recommended occupational exposure limit for an 8 hour day. Elevation of these enzymes in firefighters suggests myocardial damage. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Firefighters Hazardous Substances Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Biological-effects Cardiac-function Cardiovascular-system-disorders Employee-exposure Exposure-levels Firemen Health-hazards JOCMA7 Medical-surveys NIOSH-Grant NIOSH-Publication Occupational-medicine Toxic-gases

  More +
• ISSN:
  0096-1736
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Oklahoma ; OSHA Region 6
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  16
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00136998
• Citation:
  J Occup Med 1974 Aug; 16(8):543-546
• Contact Point Address:
  Human Ecology and Environ Hlth Univ of Oklahoma Med Ctr 800 N E 13Th Street Oklahoma City, Okla 73104
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon monoxide (CAS RN 630-08-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1974
• Performing Organization:
  University of Oklahoma Hlth Sciences Ctr, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19710601
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational Medicine
• End Date:
  19760531
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:dcddd8c7c6df660e53a1a9a518b7244aabe76c5bf3191f5debff732956f594d4dab13f81b0f2887901b37494be94fe3691b7105802611f722422e6e9a2a59d24
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/184702/cdc_184702_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.30 MB ]