Firefighter exposures to potential endocrine disrupting chemicals measured by military-style silicone dog tags

Abstract

Studies suggest that exposure to potential endocrine disrupting chemicals (pEDCs) may contribute to adverse health outcomes, but pEDC exposures among firefighters have not been fully characterized. Previously, we demonstrated the military-style silicone dog tag as a personal passive sampling device for assessing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposures among structural firefighters. This follow-up analysis examined the pEDC exposures based on department call volume, duty shift, and questionnaire variables. Structural firefighters (n = 56) were from one high and one low fire call volume department (Kansas City, MO metropolitan area) and wore separate dog tags while on- and off-duty (n dogtags = 110). The targeted 1530 analyte semi-quantitative screening method was conducted using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (n pEDCs = 433). A total of 47 pEDCs were detected, and several less-frequently-detected pEDCs ( < 75%) were more commonly detected in off-compared to on-duty dog tags (conditional logistic regression). Of the 11 phthalates and fragrances detected most frequently ( > 75%), off-duty pEDC concentrations were strongly correlated (r = 0.31–0.82, p < 0.05), suggesting co-applications of phthalates and fragrances in consumer products. Questionnaire variables of “regular use of conventional cleaning products” and “fireplace in the home” were associated with select elevated pEDC concentrations by duty shift (paired t -test). This suggested researchers should include detailed questions about consumer product use and home environment when examining personal pEDC exposures.

Expanding the access of wearable silicone wristbands in community-engaged research through best practices in data analysis and integration

“…Further, no guidance exists nor have any thorough reviews been conducted to determine the threshold of detection rate for a chemical to be included in an analysis and imputed. Researchers have used a wide range of thresholds ranging from 20% [22] to 75% [23] of observations detected for a chemical to be included in downstream analyses. At a minimum, researchers should conduct sensitivity analyses to evaluate the effect of chosen threshold on their results.…”

Pets, Genuine Tools of Environmental Pollutant Detection

“…The wearing of silicone tags by their service dogs revealed their exposure to 18 PAH, di-n-butyl, diisobutyl phthalate, guaiacol, and DEET classified as having possible carcinogenic effects [ 173 ]. Poutasse et al [ 174 ] used the silicone devices worn by firefighter service dogs for temporized determinations found that some endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDC) mainly come from household products and environments, and less from work situations of firefighting.…”

Silicone wristbands as personal passive sampling devices: Current knowledge, recommendations for use, and future directions

“…Many chemical categories can also fall under the pesticide umbrella: organochlorines, organophosphates, neonicotinoids, pyrethroids, amides, pyrazoles, and more. While not a single chemical category, multiple papers have focused on exposure to endocrine disruptors ( Poutasse et al, 2022 ; Varnell et al, 2021 ; Dixon et al, 2019 ).Two studies have utilized silicone wristbands to measure VOCs and SVOCs that originate from the human cells and skin microflora ( Roodt et al, 2018 ; Wooding et al, 2020 ). There have been a few analytical methods explicitly developed for silicone wristbands.…”

“…Alternative configurations that have not been directly compared to the standard sampler (i.e., a wristband worn on a wrist) include wristbands worn as air samplers on participants with no dermal contact aside from brooches/lapels ( Aerts et al, 2018 ; Bullock et al, 2020 ; Mendoza-Sanchez et al, 2021 ; Swanson et al, 2018 ; Andersen et al, 2021 ), silicone military-style dog tags worn around the neck ( Poutasse et al, 2022 ; Poutasse et al, 2020 ), and pet tags ( Wise et al, 2020 ; Wise et al, 2021 ; Poutasse et al, 2019 ). Two studies have utilized PDMS tubing to create silicone wristbands and anklets, but these studies were not concerned with environmental chemical exposure ( Roodt et al, 2018 ; Wooding et al, 2020 ).…”