Biomonitoring of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons exposure and short-time health effects in wildland firefighters during real-life fire events

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2024

Authors

Paiva, AM (Author) Other; Barros, B (Author) Other; Oliveira, M (Author) Other; Alves, S (Author) Other; Esteves, F (Author) Other; Fernandes, A (Author) Other; Vaz, J (Author) Other; Klara Slezakova (Author) FEUP; Teixeira, JP (Author) Other; Costa, S (Author) Other; Morais, S (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Science of the Total Environment

Vol. 926

ISSN: 0048-9697

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 2 Citations

Scopus - 2 Citations

Associated Projects

BioFirEx - Um painel de (bio)marcadores para a vigilância da saúde e da segurança do bombeiro

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-010-8XB

DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171801

Abstract (EN): Human biomonitoring data retrieved from real -life wildland firefighting in Europe and, also, worldwide are scarce. Thus, in this study, 176 Portuguese firefighters were biomonitored pre- and post- unsimulated wildfire combating (average:12-13 h; maximum: 55 h) to evaluate the impact on the levels of urinary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons hydroxylated metabolites (OHPAH; quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection) and the associated short-term health effects (symptoms, and total and differentiated white blood cells). Correlations between these variables and data retrieved from the self -reported questionnaires were also investigated. Firefighters were organized into four groups according to their exposure to wildfire emissions and their smoking habits: non-smoking non -exposed (NSNExp), non-smoking exposed (NSExp), smoking non -exposed (SNExp), and smoking and exposed (SExp). The most abundant metabolites were 1-hydroxynaphthalene and 1-hydroxyacenaphthene (1OHNaph + 1OHAce) (98-99 %), followed by 2-hydroxyfluorene (2OHFlu) (0.2-1.1 %), 1-hydroxyphenanthrene (1OHPhen) (0.2-0.4 %), and 1-hydroxypyrene (1OHPy) (0.1-0.2 %); urinary 3-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene was not detected. The exposure to wildfire emissions significantly elevated the median concentrations of each individual and total OHPAH compounds in all groups, but this effect was more pronounced in non-smoking (1.7-4.2 times; p < 0.006) than in smoking firefighters (1.3-1.6 times; p < 0.03). The greatest discriminant of exposure to wildfire emissions was 1OHNaph + 1OHAce (increase of 4.2 times), while for tobacco smoke it was 2OHFlu (increase of 10 times). Post -exposure, white blood cells count significantly increased ranging from 1.4 (smokers, p = 0.025) to 3.7 -fold (non-smokers, p < 0.001), which was accompanied by stronger significant correlations (0.480 < r < 0.882; p < 0.04) between individual and total OHPAH and total white blood cells (and lymphocytes > monocytes > neutrophils in non-smokers), evidencing the impact of PAH released from wildfire on immune cells. This study identifies Portuguese firefighters with high levels of biomarkers of exposure to PAH and points out the importance of adopting biomonitoring schemes, that include multiple biomarkers of exposure and biomarkers of effect, and implementing mitigations strategies.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 14