Baseline Measurements of Smoke Exposure Among Wildland Firefighters

Extensive measurements of smoke exposure among wildland firefighters are summarized, showing that firefighters can be exposed to significant levels of carbon monoxide and respiratory irritants, including formaldehyde, acrolein, and respirable particulate matter. Benzene was also measured and found to be well below permissible exposure limits, with the highest concentrations occurring among firefighters working with engines and torches burning petroleum-based fuel. Exposures to all pollutants were higher among firefighters at prescribed burns than at wildfires, while shift-average smoke exposures were lowest among firefighters who performed initial attack of wildfires in the early stages of the fires. Smoke exposure reaches its highest levels among firefighters maintaining fire within designated firelines and performing direct attack of spot fires that cross firelines. These events and the associated smoke exposures were positively correlated with increasing ambient wind speeds, which hamper fire management and carry the convective plume of the fire into firefighters' breathing zone. The pollutants measured in smoke were reasonably well-correlated with each other, enabling estimation of exposure to multiple pollutants in smoke from measurements of a single pollutant such as carbon monoxide.