title: Personal carbon monoxide exposures among firefighters at prescribed forest burns in the Southeastern United States.
abstract: Exposure to combustion products from wildland fires causes respiratory irritation and decreased lung function among firefighters. The authors evaluated carbon monoxide (CO) exposures of a group of wildland firefighters who conducted prescribed burns in the southeastern United States of America. A total of 149 person-days of samples were collected using data logging CO monitors. A questionnaire was administered to collect data on job tasks and self-reported smoke exposure. Overall, the highest exposures were seen amongst firefighters assigned to holding and mop-up tasks (geometric mean [GM]: 2.6 ppm), whereas the lowest were associated with lighting and jobs such as burn boss (GM: 1.6 and 0.3 ppm, respectively). The self-reported smoke exposure showed a significant linear trend with increasing CO exposure. The numbers of acres burned or burn duration, however, were not good predictors of exposure.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Dunn
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shulman
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Stock
authors.forename: L P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Naeher
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000032:analysis*; D002248:Carbon Monoxide / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation; D005260:Female; D061388:Firefighters; D005390:Fires; D016468:Forestry; D005845:Georgia; D006801:Humans; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D057566:Self Report; D012906:Smoke / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D012906:Smoke; D002248:Carbon Monoxide