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Author(s):
Chieh-Ming Wu, Anna M. Adetona, Chi Song, Luke P. Naeher, Olorunfemi Adetona
Year Published:

Cataloging Information

Topic(s):
Human Dimensions of Fire Management
Human Factors of Firefighter Safety
Risk
Smoke & Air Quality
Smoke Emissions
Wildland Firefighter Health

NRFSN number: 20850
FRAMES RCS number: 58194
Record updated:

Wildland firefighters are directly exposed to elevated levels of wildland fire (WF) smoke. Although studies demonstrate WF smoke exposure is associated with lung function changes, few studies that use invasive sample collection methods have been conducted to investigate underlying biochemical changes. These methods are also either unrepresentative of the deeper airways or capable of inducing inflammation. In the present study, levels of biomarkers of oxidative stress (8-isoprostane) and pro-inflammatory response (interleukin-6 [IL-6], interleukin-8 [IL-8], C-reactive protein [CRP], and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 [sICAM-1]) were determined in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) samples that were collected from firefighters before, after, and next morning following prescribed burn and regular work shifts. Results show only a marginal cross-shift increase in 8-isoprostane on burn days (.05 < p value < .1), suggesting WF smoke exposure causes mild pulmonary responses.

Citation

Wu, Chieh-Ming; Adetona, Anna M.; Song, Chi; Naeher, Luke P.; Adetona, Olorunfemi. 2020. Measuring acute pulmonary responses to occupational wildland fire smoke exposure using exhaled breath condensate. Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health 75(2):65-69. https://doi.org/10.1080/19338244.2018.1562413

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