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The emissions from structure fires have a countless number of health-hazardous pollutants, including particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), among many other gaseous compounds. The characterization of Portuguese firefighters’ exposure during structure fires is inexistent. This work characterizes firefighters’ exposure to PAHs during training structure fires and it estimates the associated respiratory health risks. This exploratory approach found 11.24–14.09 ng/m3 of total PAHs inside the self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) used by firefighters. The respiratory risk analysis was based on World Health Organization (WHO) and United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) methodologies for the estimation of total benzo(a)pyrene equivalents, the lifetime lung cancer risk, and the carcinogenic risks for different PAHs. All the parameters evaluated were within the guideline level defined by USEPA (10–4 and 10–6 for total carcinogenic risks) and WHO (10–5 for lifetime lung cancer risk). These results reinforce the importance of the use of SCBA, to protect firefighters’ respiratory health, during structural firefighting activities. Further studies are needed to better explore these preliminary findings.

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Characterization of Firefighters’ Respiratory Health Risks During Training Structure Fires: An Exploratory Approach

  • 章节

  • 发表日期：

    2025年

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  • Joana Teixeira,
  • Francisca Rodrigues,
  • Alice Santos Silva,
  • Cristina Delerue-Matos,
  • Marta Oliveira

摘要

The emissions from structure fires have a countless number of health-hazardous pollutants, including particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), among many other gaseous compounds. The characterization of Portuguese firefighters’ exposure during structure fires is inexistent. This work characterizes firefighters’ exposure to PAHs during training structure fires and it estimates the associated respiratory health risks. This exploratory approach found 11.24–14.09 ng/m3 of total PAHs inside the self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) used by firefighters. The respiratory risk analysis was based on World Health Organization (WHO) and United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) methodologies for the estimation of total benzo(a)pyrene equivalents, the lifetime lung cancer risk, and the carcinogenic risks for different PAHs. All the parameters evaluated were within the guideline level defined by USEPA (10–4 and 10–6 for total carcinogenic risks) and WHO (10–5 for lifetime lung cancer risk). These results reinforce the importance of the use of SCBA, to protect firefighters’ respiratory health, during structural firefighting activities. Further studies are needed to better explore these preliminary findings.