Face-to-Face with Scorching Wildfire: Potential Toxicant Exposure and the Health Risks of Smoke for Wildland Firefighters at the Wildland-Urban Interface

Details

• Personal Author:
  Agnew RJ ; Chong N-S ; Hwang J ; Li Z ; Xu C ; Xu X ; Zhang M
• Description:
  As wildfire risks have elevated due to climate change, the health risks that toxicants from fire smoke pose to wildland firefighters have been exacerbated. Recently, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has reclassified wildland firefighters' occupational exposure as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1). Wildfire smoke contributes to an increased risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease, yet wildland firefighters have inadequate respiratory protection. The economic cost of wildland fires has risen concurrently, as illustrated by the appropriation of $45 billion for wildfire management over FYs 2011-2020 by the U.S. Congress. Occupational epidemiological studies of wildland firefighters are crucial for minimizing health risks; however, they must account for the mixture of exposures in wildfire smoke. This review focuses on four aspects of wildland firefighters' health risks at the wildland-urban interface: 1) economic costs and health impact, 2) respiratory protection, 3) multipollutant mixtures, and 4) proactive management of wildfires. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Climate Change Economics Firefighters Fires Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory Protective Devices Safety Wildfires
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Wildfire Climate Change Economic Consequences Exposure Assessment Firefighter Fire Fighters Mixed Exposures Multi-pollutant Mixtures Of Fire Smoke Occupational And Environmental Health Occupational Exposure Prescribed Burn Respiratory Protection Wildland-urban Interface WUI

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• ISSN:
  2667-193X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Oklahoma ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 6 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Tennessee ; Texas
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  21
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20067394
• Citation:
  Lancet Reg Health Am 2023 May; 21:100482
• Contact Point Address:
  Jooyeon Hwang, University of Texas Health Science Center, School of Public Health, 1200 Pressler Street, RAS E607, Houston, TX 77030, USA
• Email:
  Jooyeon.hwang@uth.tmc.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• Performing Organization:
  University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20200901
• Source Full Name:
  The Lancet Regional Health. Americas
• End Date:
  20210831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:40c96ab51d67c91fe0b745ca2a4b040266fe87294de8d6b65a94c3cb248b8e7ed19e16a7de4711e4745ad5929c17292caad607d905f46e3f53d518d06c920ff6
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/231442/cdc_231442_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.19 MB ]