Respiratory protection for firefighters - evaluation of CBRN canisters for use during overhaul

Details

• Personal Author:
  Burgess JL ; Duncan M ; Jones L ; Lutz EA
• Description:
  In the United States, there are approximately 366,600 structural fires each year. After visible flames are extinguished, firefighters begin the overhaul stage of firefighting to smother remaining hot spots and initiate investigations. Typically during overhaul significant ambient concentrations of chemical contaminants remain. However, previous research suggests that the use of air purifying respirators (APR) fitted with chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) canisters may reduce occupational respiratory exposures. This pilot study used large-scale prescribed burns of representative structural materials to perform simultaneous, side-by-side, filtering and service-life evaluations of commercially available CBRN filters. Three types of CBRN canisters and one cartridge were challenged in repetitive post live-fire overhaul exposure tests using a sampling manifold apparatus. At a flow rate of 80L/min, nine tests were conducted in the breathing zone for three different exposure durations (0-15 min, 0-30 min, and 0-60 min). Fifty different chemicals were identified for evaluation and results indicate that 21 of the 50 chemicals tested were in the air of the overhaul environment. Respirable particles and formaldehyde were consistently present above the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) recommended exposure level (REL) and threshold limit ceiling value (TLVc), respectively. Each filter effectively reduced concentrations for respirable particulates below the maximum recommended level. Formaldehyde was reduced, but not consistently filtered below the TLVc. These results were consistent across all exposure durations. This study indicates that, regardless of brand, CBRN filters provide protection from the vast majority of particle and gas-phase contaminants. However, due to formaldehyde breakthrough, CBRN filters do not provide complete protection during firefighter overhaul. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Burns Chemical Warfare Agents Chemistry Dust Emergency Responders Environmental Monitoring Firefighters Formaldehyde Hazardous Substances Laboratories Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Safety

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• Keywords:
  Air-purifying-respirators Author Keywords: Firefighter Breathing-zone Chemical-cartridge-respirators Chemical-indicators Chemical-warfare-agents Emergency-responders Equipment-reliability Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Exposure-limits Filters Fire-fighters Formaldehydes Hazardous-materials Hazardous-waste-cleanup Laboratory-testing Materials-testing Overhaul Performance-capability Personal-protective-equipment Respirable-dust Respirators Respiratory-equipment Respiratory-protective-equipment Respiratory Protection Self-contained-breathing-apparatus Self-contained-self-rescuers

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• ISSN:
  1545-9624
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Contract
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Arizona ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  NPPTL - National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  314-322
• Volume:
  12
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046133
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Hyg 2015 May; 12(5):314-322
• Contact Point Address:
  Leaton Jones, Division of Community, Environment, and Policy, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 1295 N. Martin Ave., Tucson, AZ 8572
• Email:
  leatonjo@email.arizona.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Formaldehyde (CAS RN 50-00-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• NORA Priority Area:
  Healthcare and Social Assistance
• Performing Organization:
  University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d074fa7b40443dbe2d2ca3741665498324f2310c7acb758aa61fc109a8aa0e51d10009864cd5b0a4a33bb91c388b39a7788b88f2cccec4b2d743b50859dd291e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/201270/cdc_201270_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 308.55 KB ]