Development of a Job-Exposure Matrix (JEM) for Exposure to Smoke Particle Mass Among Firefighters of the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY)

Details

• Personal Author:
  Goldfarb DG ; Kavouras IG ; Liu Y ; Prezant DJ ; Schwartz T ; Zeig-Owens R
• Description:
  Objectives: A refined job exposure matrix (JEM) based on incident types and severities and response characteristics was developed for firefighters to estimate quantities of smoke particles emitted during structural and non-structural fire incidents from 2010 to 2021. Methods :The cohort included a subset of 3237 Fire Department of the City of New York firefighters who responded to at least one incident between 2010 and 2021, prior to retirement. Fire incident data included dates, type, severity (alarm level) and location. Response data included dates worked, firehouse, position titles and shift lengths for each firefighter. The quantity of smoke particle mass generated during structural and non-structural fires adjusted by individual firefighter engagement was computed using the United States Environmental Protection Agency AP-42 emissions framework. Correlations between years of employment, fire responses and career total particle mass concentration by firefighter were examined. Linear regression models were fit and corresponding R2 values were calculated. Results: Firefighters responded to a median of 424.7 (IQR=202.3-620.0) annual incidents/person; 17.6% were fire incidents (median=77.1; IQR=40.4-114.0). Structural fires were the most common type of fire incident (72.5% of annual incidents/person; median=55.9; IQR=29.6-85.5). Incident severity (alarm level) and firefighter engagement (position title) appeared to differentiate between high and low exposure regimes (R2=0.43). Incident severity explained most of the variability of particle exposures (R2=0.90). Conclusions: Using the JEM, job-related smoke particle concentrations were estimated to vary by incident type, incident severity and firefighter engagement, highlighting the importance of using refined measures, so that future studies can more accurately evaluate associations between firefighting and health outcomes. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Emergency Responders Firefighters Fires Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety Shift Work Schedule
• Keywords:
  Emission Sources Fire Fighters First Responders JEM Job Exposure Matrix Particulates Shift Work Smoke Inhalation
• ISSN:
  1351-0711
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Contract
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  104-110
• Volume:
  80
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20066814
• Citation:
  Occup Environ Med 2023 Feb; 80(2):104-110
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr David G Goldfarb, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY 10461
• Email:
  david.goldfarb@fdny.nyc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• Performing Organization:
  New York City Fire Department
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6f2e0521877970ce418faaae1b5ef07fa8199d23412d279b22066a0289235a1aa1d58689a1dd8b1fea889486f3107aa00eece8105a052b0539941fce8b49760f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/230878/cdc_230878_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.81 MB ]