By Kenneth W. Fent, Gavin P. Horn, Katherine M. Kirk, and Michael B. Logan
Firefighter personal protective equipment (PPE) provides excellent protection from environmental hazards during firefighting, but the protective ensembles often become contaminated with combustion by-products while serving this purpose. Few scientific research studies have attempted to quantify this contamination, which may consist of nonvolatile, semi-volatile, and volatile compounds. At normal environmental conditions, nonvolatile compounds exist primarily as solids; semi-volatile compounds are found as both condensed (liquid or solid) and gas phase; and volatile compounds readily generate vapors that can be inhaled because of their high vapor pressure. As examples, flame retardants are generally nonvolatile, whereas low molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are semi-volatile and single-ring aromatic hydrocarbons (like benzene and toluene) are volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
During firefighting, nonvolatile contaminants present an exposure hazard mainly through firefighters coming in physical contact with the substances and subsequent dermal absorption and hand-to-mouth ingestion. Volatile and semi-volatile contaminants may also present an exposure hazard through the inhalation route, whereby the PPE acts as a temporary adsorptive material for airborne contaminants (gases and particles) that may then be released into the air during postfire activities. These evaporating contaminants may be inhaled after a firefighter doffs his self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA).
If you are a current subscriber,login hereto access this content.
If you would like to become a subscriber, please visit ushere.
