title: Biomonitoring in California firefighters: metals and perfluorinated chemicals.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess California firefighters' blood concentrations of selected chemicals and compare with a representative US population.
  
  
  METHODS
  We report laboratory methods and analytic results for cadmium, lead, mercury, and manganese in whole blood and 12 serum perfluorinated chemicals in a sample of 101 Southern California firefighters.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Firefighters' blood metal concentrations were all similar to or lower than the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) values, except for six participants whose mercury concentrations (range: 9.79 to 13.42 μg/L) were close to or higher than the NHANES reporting threshold of 10 μg/L. Perfluorodecanoic acid concentrations were elevated compared with NHANES and other firefighter studies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Perfluorodecanoic acid concentrations were three times higher in this firefighter group than in NHANES adult males. Firefighters may have unidentified sources of occupational exposure to perfluorinated chemicals.
authors.affiliation: From the Environmental Health Investigations Branch (Ms Dobraca, Dr McNeel, Mr Voss, and Dr Das) and Environmental Health Laboratory (Drs Gajek, Barley, and She), California Department of Public Health, Richmond; Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (Dr Israel), University of California, Irvine; and Environmental Chemistry Laboratory (Drs Wang, Park, and Harwani), Department of Toxic Substances Control, California Environmental Protection Agency, Berkeley.
authors.forename: Dina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dobraca
authors.forename: Leslie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Israel
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McNeel
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Voss
authors.forename: Miaomiao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ryszard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gajek
authors.forename: June-Soo
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Suhash
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Harwani
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Barley
authors.forename: Jianwen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: She
authors.forename: Rupali
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Das
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D017738:Alkanesulfonic Acids / Q000097:blood; D002104:Cadmium / Q000097:blood; D002140:California; D003652:Decanoic Acids / Q000097:blood; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005227:Fatty Acids; D005260:Female; D061388:Firefighters; D005390:Fires; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000097:blood; D006538:Heptanoic Acids / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D006845:Hydrocarbons, Fluorinated / Q000097:blood; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008345:Manganese / Q000097:blood; D008628:Mercury / Q000097:blood; D008875:Middle Aged; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis* / Q000592:standards; D013449:Sulfonamides / Q000097:blood; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C000601538:2-(N-methylperfluorooctanesulfonamido)acetic acid; D017738:Alkanesulfonic Acids; D003652:Decanoic Acids; D005227:Fatty Acids; D005466:Fluorocarbons; D006538:Heptanoic Acids; D006845:Hydrocarbons, Fluorinated; D013449:Sulfonamides; D002104:Cadmium; D007854:Lead; C036567:perfluorodecanoic acid; C101816:perfluoro-n-nonanoic acid; D008345:Manganese; C063900:perfluorooctanesulfonamide; C076994:perfluorooctane sulfonic acid; D008628:Mercury