Contamination of firefighters' merino wool and mixed fibre sweater and hood undergarments with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

BACKGROUND

Several authors have studied contamination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) found on the outer gears of firefighters, but to our knowledge, none have investigated merino wool and mixed fibre undergarments used underneath the protective turnout gear. We therefore performed a comprehensive study regarding selected PAHs in pieces cut out from different areas of firefighter's sweaters and hood used in real fires and laundered after each use.

METHOD

Hoods (38) and sweaters (58) were donated by 3 fire departments and from these garments 558 pieces of fabric were cut out. Extracts of the fabric pieces were analysed by liquid chromatography with ultraviolet and fluorescence detection for 7 PAHs: anthracene, benzo[a]pyrene, chrysene, fluoranthene, naphthalene, phenanthrene, and pyrene. In addition, a small study was performed to examine the removal of PAHs from sweaters during laundry.

RESULTS

Trace amounts of anthracene, benzo[a]pyrene, fluoranthene, and pyrene were detected both in merino wool and mixed fibre sweaters and hoods with highest concentrations for the hoods and lowest for the back of the sweaters. Highest concentration was found for the forehead position of the hoods. Significantly higher concentrations of PAHs were found in both hoods and sweaters containing the textile meta-aramid. Laundering reduced the amount of PAHs-in the sweaters but not completely.

CONCLUSION

Trace levels of benzo[a]pyrene and 3 other PAHs could be found in firefighters routine laundered undergarments. Cleaning reduced the PAH levels but not completely, and textiles with meta-aramid contained more PAHs than those without. Merino wool and mixed fibre undergarments are used in many countries and the results are valuable outside this study.