Exposure of wildland firefighters to carbon monoxide, fine particles, and levoglucosan

Details

• Personal Author:
  Adetona O ; Naeher LP ; Onstad G ; Simpson CD
• Description:
  Wildland firefighters are occupationally exposed to elevated levels of woodsmoke. Eighteen wildland firefighters were monitored for their personal exposure to particulate matter with median aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 microns (PM2.5), levoglucosan (LG), and carbon monoxide (CO) at 30 prescribed burns at the Savannah River Site, South Carolina. Linear mixed effect models were used to investigate the effect on exposure of various factors and to examine whether the firefighters were able to qualitatively estimate their own exposures. Exposure to PM2.5 and CO was higher when firefighters performed 'holding' tasks compared with 'lighting' duties, whereas exposures to CO and LG were higher when burns were in compartments with predominantly pine vegetation (P < 0.05). Exposures to PM2.5 (64-2068 µg m(-3)) and CO (0.02-8.2 p.p.m.) fell within the ranges observed in previous studies. Some recommended shorter term exposure limits for CO were exceeded in a few instances. The very low LG:PM2.5 ratios in some samples suggest that the exposures of wildland firefighters to pollutants at prescribed burns may be substantially impacted by non-woodsmoke sources. The association of the qualitative exposure estimation of the firefighters with actual PM2.5 and CO measurements (P < 0.01) indicates that qualitative estimation may be used to assess exposure in epidemiology studies. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Carcinogens Firefighters Men Occupational Health Particulate Matter Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Smoke Wood
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Carbon Monoxide Exposure-levels Fire-fighters Hazards Humans Levoglucosan Models Occupational Exposure Particulate-dust Particulate Matter Particulates Pollutants Prescribed Burn Risk-factors Smoke-inhalation Wildland Firefighter

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• ISSN:
  0003-4878
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 4 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  57
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20044751
• Citation:
  Ann Occup Hyg 2013 Oct; 57(8):979-991
• Contact Point Address:
  Luke Naeher, Department of Environmental Health Science, The University of Georgia, College of Public Health, 206 EHS Building, 150 Green Street, Athens, GA 30602
• Email:
  LNaeher@uga.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon monoxide (CAS RN 630-08-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20070901
• Source Full Name:
  Annals of Occupational Hygiene
• End Date:
  20100831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:bb4d8f45a9255ff64e79c272d38238887d342326cd9ad94204db5ceb20dae3719ba09ca753ec0f808ec0149c8b93fd873d0cd1c7a807e4298f603f4da05c65f3
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/200387/cdc_200387_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.31 MB ]