Reinhardt Timothy E, Ottmar Roger D
URS Corporation, Seattle, Washington 98101, USA.
J Occup Environ Hyg. 2004 Sep;1(9):593-606. doi: 10.1080/15459620490490101.
Extensive measurements of smoke exposure among wildland firefighters are summarized, showing that firefighters can be exposed to significant levels of carbon monoxide and respiratory irritants, including formaldehyde, acrolein, and respirable particulate matter. Benzene was also measured and found to be well below permissible exposure limits, with the highest concentrations occurring among firefighters working with engines and torches burning petroleum-based fuel. Exposures to all pollutants were higher among firefighters at prescribed burns than at wildfires, while shift-average smoke exposures were lowest among firefighters who performed initial attack of wildfires in the early stages of the fires. Smoke exposure reaches its highest levels among firefighters maintaining fire within designated firelines and performing direct attack of spot fires that cross firelines. These events and the associated smoke exposures were positively correlated with increasing ambient wind speeds, which hamper fire management and carry the convective plume of the fire into firefighters' breathing zone. The pollutants measured in smoke were reasonably well-correlated with each other, enabling estimation of exposure to multiple pollutants in smoke from measurements of a single pollutant such as carbon monoxide.
对野外消防员接触烟雾的情况进行了广泛测量，结果表明，消防员可能会接触到大量的一氧化碳和呼吸道刺激物，包括甲醛、丙烯醛和可吸入颗粒物。还对苯进行了测量，发现其浓度远低于允许接触限值，最高浓度出现在使用燃烧石油基燃料的发动机和喷灯的消防员中。在规定燃烧区域工作的消防员接触的所有污染物都比在野火中工作的消防员高，而在火灾初期对野火进行初次扑救的消防员的轮班平均烟雾接触量最低。在指定防火线内维持火势并对越过防火线的明火进行直接扑救的消防员中，烟雾接触量达到最高水平。这些情况及相关的烟雾接触与环境风速增加呈正相关，环境风速增加会妨碍火灾管理，并将火灾的对流羽流带入消防员的呼吸区域。烟雾中测量的污染物之间相关性较好，因此可以通过测量单一污染物（如一氧化碳）来估算烟雾中多种污染物的接触情况。
