Evaluation of Antimony and Mercury Exposure in Fire Fighters

Details

• Personal Author:
  De Perio, Marie A. ; Durgam, Srinivas
• Description:
  The HHE Program responded to a request to investigate fire fighters' potential exposure to antimony through their station uniform pants made of FireWear fabric. FireWear fabric contains antimony trioxide, which is often used for its flame retardant properties. HHE Program investigators reviewed results from hair and urine tests that had been performed by fire fighters' personal physicians prior to the NIOSH investigation and then collected urine samples to measure urine antimony and mercury levels. Investigators also administered a questionnaire asking about personal characteristics and work history. Investigators found that firefighters who had worn pants made from FireWear fabric had urine antimony levels similar to those who had not worn these pants; both groups had urine mercury levels below or within the expected range for the general population. HHE Program investigators found that wearing pants made from FireWear fabric did not pose a health hazard from antimony exposure. HHE Program investigators recommended that station uniforms that comply with the National Fire Protection Association 1975 standard continue to be issued and worn at fire stations and also recommended that garment label instructions be followed when washing station uniforms. The final report is available at: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe/reports/pdfs/2009-0025-0076-3085.pdf. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Emergency Responders Firefighters Fires Flame Retardants Metals, Heavy Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Emergency-responders Fire-fighters Fire-fighting-equipment Fire-protection-equipment Flame-retardants Heavy-metals
• ISSN:
  1077-3525
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Florida ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5
• 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
• Volume:
  15
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20036184
• Citation:
  Int J Occup Environ Health 2009 Oct; 15(4):417
• CAS Registry Number:
  Antimony (CAS RN 7440-36-0) ; Mercury (CAS RN 7439-97-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  922160 - Fire Protection - (NAICS)
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:343d3a588fb6ae0b1629f804a664d609300c8a0af6ab86d9027851b880316e46c03f2bdedaec4087f2f69d34341a681b46bdc8c4a7687f9596bfd867d8f3cfcc
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/187713/cdc_187713_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 207.56 KB ]