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Biological monitoring of smoke exposure among wildland firefighters: A pilot study comparing urinary methoxyphenols with personal exposures to carbon monoxide, particular matter, and levoglucosan

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 19, pages 349–358 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Urinary methoxyphenols (MPs) have been proposed as biomarkers of woodsmoke exposure. However, few field studies have been undertaken to evaluate the relationship between woodsmoke exposure and urinary MP concentrations. We conducted a pilot study at the US Forest Service — Savannah River Site, in which carbon monoxide (CO), levoglucosan (LG), and particulate matter (PM2.5) exposures were measured in wildland firefighters on prescribed burn days. Pre- and post-shift urine samples were collected from each subject, and cross-shift changes in creatinine-corrected urinary MP concentrations were calculated. Correlations between exposure measures and creatine-adjusted urinary MP concentrations were explored, and regression models were developed relating changes in urinary MP concentrations to measured exposure levels. Full-shift measurements were made on 13 firefighters over 20 work shifts in winter 2004 at the US Forest Service Savannah River site, a National Environmental Research Park. The average workshift length across the 20 measured shifts was 701±95 min. LG and CO exposures were significantly correlated for samples where the filter measurement captured at least 60% of the work shift (16 samples), as well as for the smaller set of full-shift exposure samples (n=9). PM2.5 and CO exposures were not significantly correlated, and LG and PM2.5 exposures were only significantly correlated for samples representing at least 60% of the work shift. Creatinine-corrected urinary concentrations for 20 of the 22 MPs showed cross-shift increases, with 14 of these changes showing statistical significance. Individual and summed creatinine-adjusted guaiacol urinary MPs were highly associated with CO (and, to a lesser degree, LG) exposure levels, and random-effects regression models including CO and LG exposure levels explained up to 80% of the variance in cross-shift changes in summed creatinine-adjusted guaiacol urinary MP concentrations. Although limited by the small sample size, this pilot study demonstrates that urinary MP concentrations may be effective biomarkers of occupational exposure to wood smoke among wildland firefighters.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge Dana Barr for undertaking the creatinine analysis; John Blake and Gary Achtemeier for support and collaboration in our smoke-related exposure research; and Jeff Prevey, Paul Linse, Mark Frizzell, Dan Shea, Chris Hobson, and the firefighters for support and participation in this study. This research was done at the Savannah River Site Environmental Research Lab (SRS) — SRS is a National Environmental Research Park. This work was funded in part by the Northwest Center for Particulate Air Pollution and Health (US EPA Grant no. CR827355) and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (no. R03-OH007656). Funding and support was also provided by the Department of Energy — Savannah River Operations Office through the US Forest Service Savannah River under Interagency Agreement DE-AI09-00SR22188.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA

    R Neitzel, M Paulsen & C D Simpson

  2. Department of Environmental Health Science, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA

    L P Naeher

  3. National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    K Dunn & A Stock

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  1. R Neitzel
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  2. L P Naeher
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  3. M Paulsen
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  6. C D Simpson
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Correspondence to C D Simpson.

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Neitzel, R., Naeher, L., Paulsen, M. et al. Biological monitoring of smoke exposure among wildland firefighters: A pilot study comparing urinary methoxyphenols with personal exposures to carbon monoxide, particular matter, and levoglucosan. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 19, 349–358 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2008.21

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