Intervention to Reduce Gymnast Exposure to Flame Retardants from Pit Foam: A Case Study

Details

• Personal Author:
  Brokaw FM ; Carignan CC ; Dembsey NA ; Dodson RE ; Jazan E ; Onasch J ; Stapleton HM
• Description:
  Gymnasts can have high exposures to flame retardants (FRs), which are used in gymnastics safety equipment such as the loose foam pit. Therefore, we aimed to reduce gymnast exposure to FRs by replacing the foam in the pit using foam free of additive FR and measuring personal exposure during practice using hand-wipes. To assure maintenance of fire safety we first conducted a flammability study and facilitated a fire inspection for our partner gym. The FR-treated cubes had similar heat release rates to the non-FR treated cubes, required a 11 cm larger flame size applied for 6 s longer to ignite, and took 4 min longer to reach peak flame height. Based on these findings and the presence of other fire safety measures including smoke detectors and a sprinkler system, the local fire and building departments approved replacement of the foam pit with FR-free foam. We then replaced foam in the gym's pit, verified it was free of any additive FRs, and quantified common halogenated and organophosphate FRs on hand-wipes collected from ten collegiate gymnasts before and after practice, pre- and post-intervention. We observed a 5-fold decline in the median mass of FRs found in pit foam that accumulated on hand-wipes during practice among gymnasts who used the foam pit (p = 0.02), indicating that replacing the foam in a pit using materials free of FRs can reduce gymnast exposure to these chemicals during practice. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Athletes Environmental Exposure Fires Hazardous Substances Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Brominated And Organophosphate Flame Retardants Chemical Hazards Environmental Exposure Exposure Levels Fire Resistant Materials Fire Safety Flame Retardants Foam Pit Gymnast Gymnastics Safety Equipment

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• ISSN:
  0160-4120
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant ; Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; Michigan ; North Carolina ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  127
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20062646
• Citation:
  Environ Int 2019 Jun; 127:868-875
• Contact Point Address:
  Courtney C. Carignan, Michigan State University, Food Safety and Toxicology Building, 1129 Farm Lane, Room 323, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
• Email:
  carignan@anr.msu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• Performing Organization:
  University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Environmental International
• End Date:
  20280630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:55341c97e072fc4c8a352b677cd5d276b7bf022bc3c1abacb1e12a088ee165b08e5ff6a1771ff8043d95c3566112ffbbda31e010029a467675989245a74becfc
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/225851/cdc_225851_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 593.92 KB ]