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. 2024 Jun 10;12(6):422.
doi: 10.3390/toxics12060422.

Characterization of Wildland Firefighters' Exposure to Coarse, Fine, and Ultrafine Particles; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; and Metal(loid)s, and Estimation of Associated Health Risks

Joana Teixeira  1   2 , Gabriel Sousa  1 , Rui Azevedo  3 , Agostinho Almeida  3 , Cristina Delerue-Matos  1 , Xianyu Wang  4 , Alice Santos-Silva  2   5 , Francisca Rodrigues  1 , Marta Oliveira  1
Affiliations

Characterization of Wildland Firefighters' Exposure to Coarse, Fine, and Ultrafine Particles; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; and Metal(loid)s, and Estimation of Associated Health Risks

Joana Teixeira et al. Toxics. .

Abstract

Firefighters' occupational activity causes cancer, and the characterization of exposure during firefighting activities remains limited. This work characterizes, for the first time, firefighters' exposure to (coarse/fine/ultrafine) particulate matter (PM) bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and metal(loid)s during prescribed fires, Fire 1 and Fire 2 (210 min). An impactor collected 14 PM fractions, the PM levels were determined by gravimetry, and the PM-bound PAHs and metal(loid)s were determined by chromatographic and spectroscopic methodologies, respectively. Firefighters were exposed to a total PM level of 1408.3 and 342.5 µg/m3 in Fire 1 and Fire 2, respectively; fine/ultrafine PM represented more than 90% of total PM. Total PM-bound PAHs (3260.2 ng/m3 in Fire 1; 412.1 ng/m3 in Fire 2) and metal(loid)s (660.8 ng/m3 versus 262.2 ng/m3), distributed between fine/ultrafine PM, contained 4.57-24.5% and 11.7-12.6% of (possible/probable) carcinogenic PAHs and metal(loid)s, respectively. Firefighters' exposure to PM, PAHs, and metal(loid)s were below available occupational limits. The estimated carcinogenic risks associated with the inhalation of PM-bound PAHs (3.78 × 10-9 - 1.74 × 10-6) and metal(loid)s (1.50 × 10-2 - 2.37 × 10-2) were, respectively, below and 150-237 times higher than the acceptable risk level defined by the USEPA during 210 min of firefighting activity and assuming a 40-year career as a firefighter. Additional studies need to (1) explore exposure to (coarse/fine/ultrafine) PM, (2) assess health risks, (3) identify intervention needs, and (4) support regulatory agencies recommending mitigation procedures to reduce the impact of fire effluents on firefighters.

Keywords: climate change; controlled fires; fire emissions; firefighting forces; health risk assessment; inhalation exposure.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Geographical localization of Serra da Aboboreira (Porto, north of Portugal) where prescribed Fire 1 and Fire 2 occurred.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of PAHs according to (a) the number of aromatic rings during prescribed fires and (b) total PAHs and total carcinogenic PAHs in Fires 1 and 2.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of PAHs in the coarse, fine, and ultrafine PM during prescribed Fires 1 and 2.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Distribution of (a) metals in the coarse, fine, and ultrafine PM and (b) total and carcinogenic metals during prescribed fires.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Contribution of (a) PM-bound PAHs (%) and (b) PM-bound metals (%) to (1) total TR and (2) total THQ values due to inhalation of PM during prescribed Fire 1 and 2.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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