Exposure to a Firefighting Overhaul Environment Without Respiratory Protection Increases Immune Dysregulation and Lung Disease Risk

Details

• Personal Author:
  Drnevich J ; Fent, Kenneth W. ; Freund GG ; Gainey SJ ; Horn, Gavin P. ; Kerber, Stephen ; Oelschlager ML ; Smith, Denise L. ; Tir VL ; Towers AE
• Description:
  Firefighting activities appear to increase the risk of acute and chronic lung disease, including malignancy. While self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBA) mitigate exposures to inhalable asphyxiates and carcinogens, firefighters frequently remove SCBA during overhaul when the firegrounds appear clear of visible smoke. Using a mouse model of overhaul without airway protection, the impact of fireground environment exposure on lung gene expression was assessed to identify transcripts potentially critical to firefighter-related chronic pulmonary illnesses. Lung tissue was collected 2 hrs post-overhaul and evaluated via whole genome transcriptomics by RNA-seq. Although gas metering showed that the fireground overhaul levels of carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), hydrogen cyanine (HCN), hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and oxygen (O2) were within NIOSH ceiling recommendations, 3852 lung genes were differentially expressed when mice exposed to overhaul were compared to mice on the fireground but outside the overhaul environment. Importantly, overhaul exposure was associated with an up/down-regulation of 86 genes with a fold change of 1.5 or greater (p<0.5) including the immunomodulatory-linked genes S100a8 and Tnfsf9 (downregulation) and the cancer-linked genes, Capn11 and Rorc (upregulation). Taken together these findings indicate that, without respiratory protection, exposure to the fireground overhaul environment is associated with transcriptional changes impacting proteins potentially related to inflammation-associated lung disease and cancer. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Animals Carbon Dioxide Carbon Monoxide Carcinogens Environmental Exposure Firefighters Fires Hydrogen Cyanide Laboratories Lung Lung Diseases Neoplasms Occupational Health Oxygen Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety

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• Keywords:
  Asphyxiants Carbon Dioxide Carbon Monoxide Environmental Exposure Exposure Levels Fire Fighters Fire Fighting Gene Expression Hydrogen Cyanide Hydrogen Sulfide Laboratory Animals Lung Disease Lung Disorders Lung Tissue Malignancy Models Pulmonary System Disorders Respiratory Protection Respiratory System Disorders Ribonucleic Acids Risk Factors RNA SCBA Self Contained Breathing Apparatus Smoke Inhalation

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• ISSN:
  1932-6203
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; Maryland ; New York ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; 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:
  13
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20052750
• Citation:
  PLoS One 2018 Aug; 13(8):e0201830
• Email:
  freun@illinois.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon dioxide (CAS RN 124-38-9) ; Carbon monoxide (CAS RN 630-08-0) ; Hydrogen sulfide (CAS RN 7783-06-4) ; Oxygen (CAS RN 7782-44-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  PLoS One
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c55d2b665fd98f6b3b060a825feab0f770510de8b120493a9d08e221afd12a81121f4a2457f226a528b87c649608437fa2f28dd7535a8ca3d49f51fb46832b87
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/212228/cdc_212228_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 11.12 MB ]