Indirect Methods to Determine the Risk of Damage to the Health of Firefighters and Children Due to Exposure to Smoke Emission from Burning Wood/Coal in a Controlled Environment

Marcelo Sampaio Ocampos, Luana Carolina Santos Leite, Elaine Silva de Pádua Melo, Rita de Cássia Avellaneda Guimarães, Rodrigo Juliano Oliveira, Karine de Cássia Freitas, Priscila Aiko Hiane, Arunachalam Karuppusamy and Valter Aragão do Nascimento ()
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Marcelo Sampaio Ocampos: Group of Spectroscopy and Bioinformatics Applied to Biodiversity and Health (GEBABS), Graduate Program in Health and Development in the Central-West Region of Brazil, School of Medicine, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande 79079-900, Brazil
Luana Carolina Santos Leite: Group of Spectroscopy and Bioinformatics Applied to Biodiversity and Health (GEBABS), Graduate Program in Health and Development in the Central-West Region of Brazil, School of Medicine, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande 79079-900, Brazil
Elaine Silva de Pádua Melo: Group of Spectroscopy and Bioinformatics Applied to Biodiversity and Health (GEBABS), Graduate Program in Health and Development in the Central-West Region of Brazil, School of Medicine, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande 79079-900, Brazil
Rita de Cássia Avellaneda Guimarães: Graduate Program in Health and Development in the Central-West Region of Brazil, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande 79079-900, Brazil
Rodrigo Juliano Oliveira: Center for Studies in Stem Cells, Cell Therapy and Genetic Toxicology (CeTroGen), School of Medicine, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande 79079-900, Brazil
Karine de Cássia Freitas: Graduate Program in Health and Development in the Central-West Region of Brazil, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande 79079-900, Brazil
Priscila Aiko Hiane: Graduate Program in Health and Development in the Central-West Region of Brazil, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande 79079-900, Brazil
Arunachalam Karuppusamy: Center for Studies in Stem Cells, Cell Therapy and Genetic Toxicology (CeTroGen), School of Medicine, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande 79079-900, Brazil
Valter Aragão do Nascimento: Group of Spectroscopy and Bioinformatics Applied to Biodiversity and Health (GEBABS), Graduate Program in Health and Development in the Central-West Region of Brazil, School of Medicine, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande 79079-900, Brazil

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 8, 1-20

Abstract: People are constantly exposed to particulate matter and chemicals released during fires. However, there are still few studies on gas and particulate emissions related to exposure to burning firewood and charcoal during forest fires, making it difficult to understand the effects on the health of the population. The objective of this study was to quantify the metal(loid)s present in the smoke from wood and charcoal fires through the deposition of metals in beef topside and pork loin, considering the routes of skin exposure, inhalation, and ingestion, contributing to the understanding of metals in the increase of the risks of cancer and mortality associated with firefighting and children. The concentrations of metals [aluminum (Al), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), vanadium (V), zinc (Zn)] and metalloids arsenic (As) were determined by inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP OES) after microwave digestion. Moreover, we assessed the associated risk regarding the elemental intake of these elements through the smoke, using the hazard quotient (HQ), hazard index (HI), Total Hazard Index (HIt), and carcinogenic risk (CR). All samples had results for HQ and HIt < 1, indicating a non-potential health risk. However, the carcinogenic risks posed by As and Cr via the three exposure pathways (except for inhalation exposure to children and adults, and by Cr via ingestion and inhalation for children and adults) exceeded the standard threshold. In conclusion, continuous exposure of firefighters or children to smoke from fires containing high concentrations of heavy metals such as As and Cr can be harmful to health. The study used animal tissues; thus, new methods must be developed to quantify the concentration of heavy metals deposited in human tissue when humans are exposed to smoke from fires.

Keywords: heavy metals; metalloids; health risks; fire smoke exposure; firefighters (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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