Summary. Background: The specifics of occupational activities of firefighters is determined by exposures to both fire hazards and a combination of occupational risk factors of various nature significantly exceeding their standard values. Adverse chemical exposures rank first due to unpredictable toxic effects of combustion products from burning synthetic polymers. Yet, the most dangerous are low-temperature fires emitting a wide range of air contaminants including highly lipophilic, bioaccumulative and persistent dioxins. The purpose of the research was to study the relationship between various polymorphic variants of xenobiotic detoxification genes and blood lipid concentrations of dioxins in firefighters. Materials and methods: We measured average dioxin concentrations in ambient air at different stages of firefighting and in blood lipids of firefighters with different length of service using the analytical method of gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The cumulative effect of dioxins was estimated in relation to polymorphic variants of xenobiotic detoxification genes of the first and second phases of biotransformation by determining polymorphisms, the main research method being polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: High concentrations of dioxins measured in ambient air at all stages of firefighting and in blood lipids of firefighters with a significant correlation with work experience indicate that inhalation is one of the main routes of exposure to dioxins and that these chemicals are occupational risk factors for this professional group. The analysis of the relationship between various polymorphic variants of xenobiotic detoxification genes and blood lipid concentrations of dioxins in the firefighters showed a higher blood level of dioxins in carriers of minor alleles. Conclusions: Genotyping of firefighters and identification of carriers of minor alleles of xenobiotic detoxification genes may contribute to timely preventive and rehabilitation measures aimed at elimination of adverse health effects of occupational exposure to dioxins.
Drinking water of proper chemical and organoleptic quality, epidemically and radiologically safe and in sufficient quantity is one of the principal determinants of public health. Currently, the requirements for chemical water quality of the centralized drinking water supply in the Russian Federation are established by SanPiN 2.1.4.1074–01 and GN 2.1.5.1315–03. Despite the fact that both regulatory documents apply to drinking water, they contain different maximum permissible concentrations (MPC) of many chemicals. This ambiguity impedes the choice of standard values and leads to inconsistencies in drinking water quality assessment. Both national and foreign water quality standards have a single regulatory principle but the number and list of regulated chemicals and their standard values in different countries vary considerably. It is essential to develop hygienic standards that combine national and international experience in regulating drinking water quality. We compared Russian hygienic standards for chemical drinking water contaminants with appropriate foreign standards in order to resolve the issue of the necessity and possibility of their optimization.
Relevance. Occupational activities of firefighters are considered extreme. Toxic combustion products are the most dangerous. Among these products, dioxins and dioxin-like compounds are particularly dangerous due to their ability to accumulate in the body.Intention is to analyze the content of toxic combustion products in atmospheric air during and after fires of various locations, as well as to evaluate dioxin concentrations in the blood plasma of employees of the Federal Firefighting Service of the Emercom of Russia, depending on the polymorphic variants of xenobiotic detoxification genes and professional experience.Methodology. To assess accumulation of dioxins in the body of firefighters with different polymorphic variants of xenobiotic detoxification genes, atmospheric air at different locations of fires was assessed for toxic combustion products. Accumulation of dioxins in the body of firefighters was analyzed depending on the polymorphisms of xenobiotic detoxification genes and work experience. 350 employees of the Federal Firefighting Service of the Emercom of Russia were examined, of them there were 234 firefighters and 116 supervisory staff involved in the investigations at the fire sites. The control group consisted of 82 rescue workers who were not directly involved in fire fighting. The examined individuals aged (32.2 ± 9.5) years.Results and Discussion. The data obtained indicate that high concentrations of dioxins in surface air at the fire site persist for more than 2 weeks, while the maximum permissible concentration is increased 4.5-10-fold. The highest concentration of dioxins is observed during fires in industrial enterprises and in residential buildings. According to the analysis of the dioxins in the blood of the Federal Firefighting Service employees and the control group, concentrations of individual chemical compounds among the employees of the Federal Firefighting Service were 2–7 times higher and 15 times higher in terms of the dioxin equivalent compared to the control group (p <0.05). High concentrations of dioxins were also revealed in the blood of supervisory staff. Analysis of the dioxins in the blood of the staff of the Federal Firefighting Service, EMERCOM of Russia showed that increased length of service correlated with dioxin concentrations in the blood: variations in chemical compounds reached 2.3–6.8 times (p <0.05) between those with 0–1 year vs 6 years or more experience and 1.3–1.7 times (p <0.05) between those with 2–5 years vs 6 years and more experience. Concentrations of dioxins in the blood plasma of employees of the Federal Firefighting Service of the Emercom of Russia were assessed depending on the polymorphic variants of xenobiotic detoxification genes and professional experience. A group of individuals carrying the combination of the EPHX1 Tyr / Tyr, CYP1A1 A / A, GSTT1 I / I, GSTM1 I / I, GSTP1 A / A, GSTP1 C / C genotypes was revealed: their dioxin concentrations in the blood were as low as 25% of that among other groups despite length of service.Conclusion Genotyping of firefighters will help arrange timely measures to detoxify dioxins, especially in carriers of minor alleles of xenobiotic biotransformation genes, in order to reduce morbidity and increase professional longevity.
Introduction. The profession of firefighters belongs to extreme activities. Fire hazards include flames, sparks, heat flow, elevated ambient temperatures, increased concentrations of toxic combustion and thermal decomposition products, decreased oxygen concentrations, and reduced visibility in smoke. High air temperature during fire extinguishing is one of the main adverse physical factors affecting firefighters’ bodies. Material and methods. The study was carried out on 124 outbred white male 3-month rats weighing 250-300 g, divided randomly into two groups: the first group (62 rats) underwent single hyperthermia. The second group (62 rats) experienced daily hyperthermia for 14 days. The study of the behavioural activity of animals was carried out after single and prolonged hyperthermia using the following methods: “Open field”, “Elevated cruciform maze”, Porsolt’s test, running on a treadmill. The tests were performed two times: the first time - before exposure, the second - after, with intervals between tests of at least two weeks. Results. The data obtained indicate that the high ambient temperature causes changes in the behavioural responses in animals, which is expressed by an increase in the level of anxiety, a decrease in motor and research activity, the development of depressive states, and a decrease in physical endurance. Conclusion. An experimental model of extreme heat exposure on animals showed the emergence and persistence of changes in animals’ behavioural activity and physical performance indicators. This experiment can be used to study the long-term effects of high temperatures on firefighters’ bodies.
Introduction. About 40% of all occupational diseases of the musculoskeletal system is degenerative muscle disease from overstrain — myofibrosis. Currently, the diagnosis is already established in the presence of obvious signs of disability, when the patient cannot continue his work in the previous profession.The aim of the study was to assess the informativeness of MRI in the early revealing of the disease. To develop the technique of MRI and detect changes in striated muscles of the upper extremities 50 patients with previously established diagnosis of myofibrosis were examined and 10 with suspicion on it. The analysis of the obtained image showed the most informative pulse sequences for revealing muscle changes. The optimal impulse sequence for the evaluation of muscle structures is IDEAL, for the determination of muscle edema — diffuse-weighted image and post-contrast T1-weighted image to visualize the disturbance of the histo-hematic barrier penetration. The presence of brachioradialis muscle edema on a diffusely weighted image served as an objective basis to regard these changes as the initial stage of myofibrosis and allowed to transfer patients from the group with suspected myofibrosis to the group with the initial stage of the disease, thus increasing the effectiveness of expert decisions on the connection of this disease with the profession.
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