Measuring acute pulmonary responses to occupational wildland fire smoke exposure using exhaled breath condensate

Abstract

Wildland firefighters are directly exposed to elevated levels of wildland fire (WF) smoke. Although studies demonstrate WF smoke exposure is associated with lung function changes, few studies that use invasive sample collection methods have been conducted to investigate underlying biochemical changes. These methods are also either unrepresentative of the deeper airways or capable of inducing inflammation. In the present study, levels of biomarkers of oxidative stress (8-isoprostane) and pro-inflammatory response (interleukin-6 [IL-6], interleukin-8 [IL-8], C-reactive protein [CRP], and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 [sICAM-1]) were determined in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) samples that were collected from firefighters before, after, and next morning following prescribed burn and regular work shifts. Results show only a marginal cross-shift increase in 8-isoprostane on burn days (.05 < p value < .1), suggesting WF smoke exposure causes mild pulmonary responses.

Keywords:

• Acute pulmonary response
• exhaled breath condensate
• inflammation
• oxidative stress
• wildland fire smoke
• wildland firefighter

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to sincerely thank William Crolly, Chris Hobson, Paul Varnedoe, John Blake, and the USFS-Savannah River crew and subjects who participated in the study.

Additional information

Funding

Funding and support is by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health Education Research Center (NIOSH/ERC) Small Project/Pilot Study Grants via the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) (Grant no.: 5T42OH008436-10) and the Interdisciplinary Toxicology Program at the University of Georgia. The project described was also supported by Award Number Grant UL1TR001070 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences or the National Institutes of Health.