High Exposure of California Firefighters to Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers

Abstract

Concern about persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in Californians prompted the state's biomonitoring program to conduct a study in firefighters, who are occupationally exposed to high levels of POPs. In this work we present serum concentrations of several classes of POPs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers [PBDEs], polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs], and organochlorine pesticides [OCPs]) in 101 Southern California firefighters. Despite recently reported declining trends of PBDEs in Californians, high levels were measured in firefighters' serum (Σ5PBDEs: median = 59.1 ng/(g of lipid); range = 18.8-714 ng/(g of lipid)) in comparison to other populations in California during the same period. In addition, nearly one-third of subjects had particularly high serum levels of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209), consistent with other recent results in firefighters; this pattern may be a marker of recent firefighting activity. In contrast, serum levels of PCBs and OCPs measured in firefighters' sera were not elevated compared to U.S. levels. Multivariable analysis indicated that lower levels of serum PBDEs were associated with turnout gear cleaning and storage practices after fires. Our study supports the hypothesis that firefighting activities are likely to increase exposure to PBDEs and that good housekeeping and personal hygiene practices may reduce exposure to these compounds.

High Levels of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in Vacuum Cleaner Dust from California Fire Stations

“…For example, in the biomonitoring study of the California firefighters, lower serum levels of PBDEs were found in firefighters who practiced more hygienic turnout gear storage. 16 In the current analysis, we were unable to assess the impact of turnout gear storage practices on vacuum-dust PBDE levels, as the small number of firefighters surveyed in the participating fire stations was not sufficient to represent station-wide practices. Our ability to identify statistical relationships between explanatory factors and chemical levels in fire station dust was also limited by our small sample size (N = 20 stations, 27 samples).…”

“…16 In this companion study, dust samples from 20 of these fire stations (3 in 2010 and 17 in 2011) were collected during on-site surveys. Participating fire stations were selected to represent a variety of emergency response volume and building age.…”

Quantification of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in Commercial Cows’ Milk from California by Gas Chromatography–Triple Quadruple Mass Spectrometry

“…One being the fact that PBDEs are in fact present in firefighter equipment [76]. Second, California firefighters themselves that have been studied and results from two different populations show that due to their activities their sera contain levels of PBDEs far above those found in the general California population [77, 78]. Third, the dust from a total of 20 fire stations in Southern California contained higher levels of PBDEs compared to dust in residential homes [79].…”

Association between Serum Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether Levels and Residential Proximity to Solid-Waste Facilities

“…Samples were thawed and aliquoted for PBDE and lipids measurements. Automated solid phase extraction (SPE; Biotage, Uppsala, Sweden) and gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS, DFS, ThermoFisher, Bremen, Germany) were used for the analysis of PBDEs 27 . Briefly, thawed serum samples (2 mL) were fortified with a panel of 13 C 12 labeled surrogate mix standards (Wellington Laboratories, Inc., Guelph, Ontario, Canada) and mixed well.…”