Firefighters' multiple exposure assessments in practice.

During the past decade, more research has focused on firefighters' multiple exposures via multi-route exposure. Multi-route exposure can alter the kinetics of chemicals; this has brought changes to the recommendations on biomonitoring. In addition, the possibility that the chemicals in smoke have additive and synergistic effects has not been consistently taken into account. In this study, biomonitoring and occupational hygienic measurements were used to determine smoke diving trainers' exposure to smoke in conventional and modern simulators. Biological action limit values (BALs) for 1-hydroxypyrene, linked with the ratio of pyrene to benzo[a]pyrene, were established for conventional and modern simulator types. The additive and synergistic effects for the main compounds detected in the air during the suppression of a fire were also calculated. According to the biomonitoring results, dermal exposure played a role in exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and it seemed to delay the excretion of 1-hydroxypyrene and 1-naphthol. The calculated BALs for 1-hydroxypyrene were 6 nmol/L and 53 nmol/L for the conventional and modern simulators, respectively. The combined cancer and eye disorders or upper respiratory tract irritation effects of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the conventional simulator were from 6.5 to 7.0-fold higher than in the modern simulator.

Fire fighting trainers' exposure to carcinogenic agents in smoke diving simulators.

It is well known that fire fighters are potentially exposed to various carcinogenic agents at a fire scene. An almost unheeded issue, however, is fire fighters' exposure to carcinogenic agents in smoke diving simulators. Biomonitoring (urinary muconic acid, 1-naphthol and 1-pyrenol), dermal (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and occupational hygiene measurements (cyanides, hydrogen cyanide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds and formaldehyde) were used to determine how the burning material, the type of simulator and protective clothing used affect fire fighting trainers' exposure. The highest excretion of 1-pyrenol (sampled 6h after end of exposure, in average 4.3-9.2nmol/L) and emissions of benzene (1.0-2.5mg/m(3)) and hydrogen cyanide (0.2-0.9mg/m(3)) were measured during the burning of conifer plywood and chipboard, and the lowest when pure pine and spruce wood (1.5nmol/L, 0.6mg/m(3), and 0.05mg/m(3)) was burned. However the safest burning material seemed to be propane (1.0nmol/L, 0.2mg/m(3), and not measured). The type of simulator used affected trainers' exposure very clearly. The highest dermal whole body exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were measured in the fire house simulator (in average 1200ng/cm(2)). Clearly lower exposure levels were measured in container training sessions (760ng/cm(2)), where the average dermal exposure level was 35% lower than in the fire house. The exposure levels (30ng/cm(2)) in the gas simulator in turn, were only 4% of the levels in container training sessions. The amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons decreased by 80% on trainers' hands when they used under gloves (in average 8.7ng/cm(2)) compared to those (48.4ng/cm(2)) who did not. There was not difference in protection efficiency against polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons between tested fire suits (Brage and Bristol).

Retrospective exposure assessment for carcinogenic agents in bitumen waterproofing industry in Finland and denmark.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was (i) to identify the carcinogenic agents that may cause confounding when studying the exposure-response relationship between bitumen fume exposure and cancer among roofing membrane-manufacturing workers and roofers and (ii) to assess exposures to the identified carcinogens and bitumen fume in roofing membrane manufacturing and roofing in Finland and Denmark from 1950 to 2005. METHODS: Information on the use of carcinogenic agents and other relevant data were collected through semi-structured interviews of senior employees in the industry. Semi-quantitative exposure assessments were made on the basis of available measurement data and information obtained from the interviews and literature. RESULTS: Most of the production line workers in roofing membrane plants in Finland were exposed to asbestos until the mid-1970s. Also, some of the mixer operators in the plants were exposed to asbestos in Finland during the 1970s and in Denmark from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. In both countries, coal tar pitch was used in roofing membrane manufacturing until the mid-1960s, and consequently, exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the plants was high in the 1950s and still significant in the early 1960s. Exposure of production line workers to quartz dust was high until the 1980s and is still relatively high compared with current occupational exposure limit values. Bitumen roofers' exposure to coal tar-derived PAHs may have been significant in both countries until the end of 1960s. Roofers' exposure to asbestos and quartz was estimated to have been near background level. CONCLUSIONS: The estimated average annual exposures to asbestos, coal tar-derived PAHs and quartz dust in the bitumen waterproofing industry in Finland and Denmark were significant in the past but have a clear declining trend. Exposure to bitumen fume was found to follow a similar trend.

Sorption of Pb(II), Cr(III), Cu(II), As(III) to peat, and utilization of the sorption properties in industrial waste landfill hydraulic barrier layers.

The low conductivity landfill barrier layers protect the groundwater and soil by limiting the water flow through the bottom layers of the landfill material. Many materials used in hydraulic barrier layers also have sorption properties which could be used to reduce environmental risks. The adsorption of lead, chromium, copper, and arsenic to peat was studied with a batch-type test and a column test for compacted peat, both without pH adjustment in acidic conditions. Peat adsorbed all the metals well, 40000mg/kg of lead, 13000mg/kg of chromium, and 8400mg/kg of copper in the column test. Arsenic was only tested in a batch-type test, and in that peat adsorbed 60mg/kg of arsenic. The column test showed heavy metals to be adsorbed on the surface layers of the compacted peat sample, on the first centimeter of the sample. The adsorption was much greater in the column test than in the batch-type test, partly due to the different pH conditions and the buffer capacity of the peat in the column test. The liquid/solid ratio of the column experiment represented a time period of approximately 40 years in a landfill, under Finnish climate conditions. The hydraulic conductivity of the peat decreased as it was compressed, but it already met the hydraulic conductivity limits set by European Union legislation for the hydraulic barrier layer (1x10(-9)m/s at a pressure of 150kPa for a 5-m layer), with a pressure of 50kPa. The results show that peat would be an excellent material to construct compacted, low hydraulic conductivity layers with adsorption properties in, e.g. industrial waste landfills.

Assessment of soil remediation workers' exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH): biomonitoring of naphthols, phenanthrols, and 1-hydroxypyrene in urine.

Urinalysis of multiple polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) biomarkers has been applied to assess the exposure of soil remediation workers on a former creosote wood impregnation site polluted with creosote oil. The uptake of PAHs was measured in preshift, end-of-shift, evening, and next preshift specimens (n=33) of nine volunteers with diverse tasks, using sensitive HPLC-FD methods. The ranges of biomarker concentrations in urine (nmol/l) were: 1-naphthol (14-159), 2-naphthol (9-166), 1- plus 2-naphthol (35-269), 1-hydroxyphenanthrene (OHPhe) (6-56), 2- plus 3-OHPhe (6-70), 4-OHPhe (1-6), 9-OHPhe (1-7), the sum of phenanthrols (15-135), and 1-hydroxypyrene, OHP (2.2-67). Eight of nine workers had OHP levels higher than the Finnish biological limit value for non-occupationally exposed persons (3nmol/l). A linear correlation was observed between 1- and 2-naphthol (r=0.90). The biomarker OHP correlated well in urine both with the major (1-OHPhe, r=0.96; 2- plus 3-OHPhe, r=0.84) and the minor phenanthrene metabolites (4-OHPhe, r=0.77; 9-OHPhe, r=0.68), and with the sum of all phenanthrols (r=0.94), but not so well with the sum of naphthols (r=0.66, p<0.001). The smokers had 2.9-, 2.2-, and 4.8-fold higher average concentrations of naphthols, phenanthrols, and OHP, respectively, than the non-smokers. The PAH biomarker data (concentrations and diurnal excretion profiles) showed significant work-related exposure in both non-smoking and smoking subjects. The average exposure levels were clearly higher than those we have measured for instance in asphalt paving workers. The workers' exposure should be assessed by biological monitoring, because at this type of outdoor work the dermal and pulmonary uptake of PAHs are both likely. Adequate measures for preventing, particularly, dermal absorption are of crucial importance for reducing the workers' risk of exposure to carcinogens on soil remediation sites.