REQUIMTE/LAQV, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Instituto Politécnico do Porto, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 431, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal; REQUIMTE/UCIBIO, Unidade de Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
UNIPRO - Unidade de Investigação em Patologia e Reabilitação Oral, Instituto Universitário de Ciências da Saúde (IUCS), CESPU, 4585-116 Gandra, Portugal.
Sci Total Environ. 2024 Jan 15;908:168364. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168364. Epub 2023 Nov 12.
Firefighters are daily exposed to adverse health-hazardous pollutants. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), well known endocrine disruptors with carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic properties, are among the most relevant pollutants. The characterization of firefighters' occupational exposure to airborne PAHs remains limited; information is scarce for European firefighters. Also, the in vitro assessment of firefighters' respiratory health risks is inexistent. To reply to these scientific gaps, this work characterizes the levels of gaseous PAH in firefighters' personal air during regular working activities at controlled forest fires and at fire stations (control group). Breathable levels were 2.2-26.7 times higher during fire events than in the control group (2.63-32.63 μg/mversus 1.22 μg/m, p < 0.001); the available occupational guidelines (100 and 200 μg/m defined by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the North American Occupational Safety and Health Administration, respectively) were not exceeded. Concentrations of (possible/probable) carcinogenic PAHs were 1.9-15.3 times superior during firefighting (p < 0.001). Increased values of total benzo(a)pyrene equivalents (p = 0.101), dose rates (p < 0.001), and carcinogenic risks (p = 0.063) were estimated in firefighters during controlled fires comparatively with the control group. Firefighters' breathable gaseous phase collected during fire events contributed to induce a significant viability decrease (<70 %; p < 0.05) in A549 and Calu-3 cell lines. The principal component analysis (PCA) allowed the differentiation between firefighters participating in controlled fire events from the control group. PCA analysis demonstrated the potential of PAHs to distinguish different sources of firefighters´ occupational exposure and of combining estimated health risk parameters with in vitro toxicities determined with human-breathable air collected during real-life scenarios. Overall, the participation in controlled fire events contributes to the respiratory health burden of firefighting forces. However, more studies are needed to corroborate these preliminary findings, explore the respiratory toxicological mechanisms, and support the implementation of preventive actions and mitigation strategies to pursue firefighters' health.
消防员每天都会接触到有害健康的污染物。多环芳烃（PAHs）是一种众所周知的内分泌干扰物，具有致癌、致突变和致畸作用，是最相关的污染物之一。消防员接触空气中多环芳烃的职业暴露情况仍有限；欧洲消防员的相关信息也很匮乏。此外，消防员呼吸健康风险的体外评估也不存在。为了回答这些科学空白，本研究在受控森林火灾和消防站（对照组）的消防员常规工作期间，对消防员个人空气的气态多环芳烃水平进行了特征描述。火灾事件期间的可呼吸水平比对照组高 2.2-26.7 倍（2.63-32.63μg/m对 1.22μg/m，p<0.001）；可用的职业指南（美国国家职业安全与健康研究所和北美职业安全与健康管理局分别定义的 100 和 200μg/m）未超标。在消防期间，（可能/可能）致癌多环芳烃的浓度高 1.9-15.3 倍（p<0.001）。与对照组相比，在受控火灾期间，消防员的总苯并(a)芘等效物（p=0.101）、剂量率（p<0.001）和致癌风险（p=0.063）值升高。在消防期间收集的消防员可呼吸气态相显著降低了 A549 和 Calu-3 细胞系的活力（<70%；p<0.05）。主成分分析（PCA）允许将参与受控火灾事件的消防员与对照组区分开来。PCA 分析表明，多环芳烃有潜力区分消防员职业暴露的不同来源，并结合在现实场景中收集的可呼吸空气中确定的估计健康风险参数与体外毒性。总体而言，参与受控火灾事件会增加消防员的呼吸健康负担。然而，还需要更多的研究来证实这些初步发现，探索呼吸毒理学机制，并支持实施预防措施和缓解策略，以追求消防员的健康。
