Journal
ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY
Volume 228, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.112929
Keywords
Toxin migration; Deposition; Exposure; Risk assessment; Carcinogens; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
Categories
Funding
- State of Florida Appropriation [2382A]
- Lucille P. Markey Chair in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the Miller School of Medicine of the University of Miami
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Carcinogens emitted at fire scenes contribute to increased cancer risk in firefighters compared to the general population. This study used passive samplers to investigate the deposition behavior of PAHs emitted by fires, finding significantly higher PAH exposure in biomass fueled fires. These findings can help reduce the carcinogenic risk experienced by emergency personnel at fire scenes.
Carcinogens are emitted in significant quantities at fire scenes and are a major contributor in the increased cancer risk observed in firefighters when compared to the general population. A knowledge gap exists in the current understanding of the distribution of these toxic compounds within a localized fire incident response arena. Here, we employ stationary silicone-based passive samplers at controlled live fire trainings to evaluate the deposition behavior of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) emitted by fires. Our findings indicate significantly greater total PAH exposure in fires fueled by biomass and wood compared to fires burning cleaner fuels, such as propane. A 22% increase in total PAH deposition and a 68% increase in high molecular weight PAH deposition was recorded for biomass fueled fires compared to propane fueled fires. Furthermore, we observe that heavier molecular weight PAHs exhibit a pronounced deposition front within a certain radius of the hot zone, whereas low molecular weight PAHs are more uniformly distributed throughout the area. These findings highlight that the warm zones and cold zones of fire situations yield elevated levels of carcinogen exposure to first responders within them. We anticipate that these findings will help inform decisions made by emergency personnel when evaluating risk for the hot zone, warm zone, and cold zone of urban fires helping ease the carcinogenic risk experienced.
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