title: Firefighters' exposure biomonitoring: Impact of firefighting activities on levels of urinary monohydroxyl metabolites.
abstract: The concentrations of six urinary monohydroxyl metabolites (OH-PAHs) of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, namely 1-hydroxynaphthalene, 1-hydroxyacenaphthene, 2-hydroxyfluorene, 1-hydroxyphenanthrene, 1-hydroxypyrene (1OHPy), and 3-hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene, were assessed in the post-shift urine of wildland firefighters involved in fire combat activities at six Portuguese fire corporations, and compared with those of non-exposed subjects. Overall, median levels of urinary individual and total OH-PAHs (ΣOH-PAHs) suggest an increased exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons during firefighting activities with ΣOH-PAH levels in exposed firefighters 1.7-35 times higher than in non-exposed ones. Urinary 1-hydroxynaphthalene and/or 1-hydroxyacenapthene were the predominant compounds, representing 63-98% of ΣOH-PAHs, followed by 2-hydroxyfluorene (1-17%), 1-hydroxyphenanthrene (1-13%), and 1OHPy (0.3-10%). A similar profile was observed when gender discrimination was considered. Participation in fire combat activities promoted an increase of the distribution percentage of 1-hydroxynaphthalene and 1-hydroxyacenaphthene, while contributions of 1-hydroxyphenanthrene and 1OHPy decreased. The detected urinary 1OHPy concentrations (1.73×10-2to 0.152μmol/mol creatinine in exposed subjects versus 1.21×10-2to 5.44×10-2μmol/mol creatinine in non-exposed individuals) were lower than the benchmark level (0.5μmol/mol creatinine) proposed by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists. This compound, considered the biomarker of exposure to PAHs, was the less abundant one from the six analyzed biomarkers. Thus the inclusion of other metabolites, in addition to 1OHPy, in future studies is suggested to better estimate firefighters' occupational exposure to PAHs. Moreover, strong to moderate Spearman correlations were observed between individual compounds and ΣOH-PAHs corroborating the prevalence of an emission source.
authors.affiliation: REQUIMTE-LAQV, Instituto Superior de Engenharia, Instituto Politécnico do Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 431, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal; LEPABE, Departamento de Engenharia Química, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, R. Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: REQUIMTE-LAQV, Instituto Superior de Engenharia, Instituto Politécnico do Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 431, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal; LEPABE, Departamento de Engenharia Química, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, R. Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Klara
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Slezakova
authors.affiliation: Escola Superior de Saúde, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Avenida D. Afonso V, 5300-121 Bragança, Portugal.
authors.forename: Maria José
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.affiliation: Escola Superior de Saúde, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Avenida D. Afonso V, 5300-121 Bragança, Portugal.
authors.forename: Adília
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Saúde Pública, Departamento de Saúde Ambiental, Rua Alexandre Herculano 321, 4000-055 Porto, Portugal; Universidade do Porto, Instituto de Saúde Pública, Rua das Taipas 135, 4050-600 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: João Paulo
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Teixeira
authors.affiliation: REQUIMTE-LAQV, Instituto Superior de Engenharia, Instituto Politécnico do Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 431, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Delerue-Matos
authors.affiliation: LEPABE, Departamento de Engenharia Química, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, R. Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Maria do Carmo
authors.initials: MDC
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: REQUIMTE-LAQV, Instituto Superior de Engenharia, Instituto Politécnico do Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 431, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal. Electronic address: sbm@isep.ipp.pt.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morais
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000652:urine*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000652:urine; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D061388:Firefighters; D005390:Fires; D006801:Humans; D006900:Hydroxylation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000652:urine*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D015415:Biomarkers; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
keywords: Biomarkers of exposure; Occupational exposure; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Urinary monohydroxyl metabolites; Wildland firefighters