Addressing the need for individual-level exposure monitoring for firefighters using silicone samplers.

Background: Firefighters are occupationally exposed to hazardous chemical mixtures. Silicone passive sampling devices capture unique exposures over time with minimal impact to the participant and allow for the analysis of a broad chemical space.

Objective: Silicone dog tags were worn by firefighters while on- and off-duty to measure individual exposures, identify potential occupational exposures, and assess their relation to occupational variables including fire response frequency, rank, and years as a firefighter.

Concurrent assessment of diffusive and advective PAH movement strongly affected by temporal and spatial changes.

Chemical movement influences exposure, remediation and interventions. Understanding chemical movement in addition to chemical concentrations at contaminated sites is critical to informed decision making. Using seepage meters and passive sampling devices we assessed both diffusive and advective flux of bioavailable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at three time points, across two seasons, at a former creosote site in St.

Silicone passive sampling used to identify novel dermal chemical exposures of firefighters and assess PPE innovations.

A plethora of chemicals are released into the air during combustion events, including a class of compounds called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHs have been implicated in increased risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease, both of which are disease endpoints of concern in structural firefighters. Current commercially available personal protective equipment (PPE) typically worn by structural firefighters during fire responses have gaps in interfaces between the ensemble elements (e.

Associating Increased Chemical Exposure to Hurricane Harvey in a Longitudinal Panel Using Silicone Wristbands.

Hurricane Harvey was associated with flood-related damage to chemical plants and oil refineries, and the flooding of hazardous waste sites, including 13 Superfund sites. As clean-up efforts began, concerns were raised regarding the human health impact of possible increased chemical exposure resulting from the hurricane and subsequent flooding. Personal sampling devices in the form of silicone wristbands were deployed to a longitudinal panel of individuals (n = 99) within 45 days of the hurricane and again one year later in the Houston metropolitan area.

Firefighter exposures to potential endocrine disrupting chemicals measured by military-style silicone dog tags.

Studies suggest that exposure to potential endocrine disrupting chemicals (pEDCs) may contribute to adverse health outcomes, but pEDC exposures among firefighters have not been fully characterized. Previously, we demonstrated the military-style silicone dog tag as a personal passive sampling device for assessing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposures among structural firefighters. This follow-up analysis examined the pEDC exposures based on department call volume, duty shift, and questionnaire variables.

Discovery of firefighter chemical exposures using military-style silicone dog tags.

Occupational chemical hazards in the fire service are hypothesized to play a role in increased cancer risk, and reliable sampling technologies are necessary for conducting firefighter chemical exposure assessments. This study presents the military-style dog tag as a new configuration of silicone passive sampling device to sample individual firefighters' exposures at one high and one low fire call volume department in the Kansas City, Missouri metropolitan area. The recruited firefighters (n = 56) wore separate dog tags to assess on- and off-duty exposures (n = 110), for a total of 30 24 h shifts.

Environmental surveillance and adverse neonatal health outcomes in foals born near unconventional natural gas development activity.

Studies of neonatal health risks of unconventional natural gas development (UNGD) have not included comprehensive assessments of environmental chemical exposures. We investigated a clustering of dysphagic cases in neonatal foals born between 2014 and 2016 in an area of active UNGD in Pennsylvania (PA),USA. We evaluated equine biological data and environmental exposures on the affected PA farm and an unaffected New York (NY) farm owned by the same proprietor.

Silicone Pet Tags Associate Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-isopropyl) Phosphate Exposures with Feline Hyperthyroidism.

Feline hyperthyroidism is the most commonly diagnosed endocrine-related disease among senior and geriatric housecats, but the causes remain unknown. Exposure to endocrine-disrupting compounds with thyroid targets, such as flame retardants (FRs), may contribute to disease development. Silicone passive sampling devices, or pet tags, quantitatively assessed the bioavailable FR exposures of 78 cats (≥7 y) in New York and Oregon using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Discovery of common chemical exposures across three continents using silicone wristbands.

To assess differences and trends in personal chemical exposure, volunteers from 14 communities in Africa (Senegal, South Africa), North America (United States (U.S.)) and South America (Peru) wore 262 silicone wristbands.

Preparation and performance features of wristband samplers and considerations for chemical exposure assessment.

Wristbands are increasingly used for assessing personal chemical exposures. Unlike some exposure assessment tools, guidelines for wristbands, such as preparation, applicable chemicals, and transport and storage logistics, are lacking. We tested the wristband's capacity to capture and retain 148 chemicals including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides, flame retardants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and volatile organic chemicals (VOCs).

Air-water exchange of PAHs and OPAHs at a superfund mega-site.

Chemical fate is a concern at environmentally contaminated sites, but characterizing that fate can be difficult. Identifying and quantifying the movement of chemicals at the air-water interface are important steps in characterizing chemical fate. Superfund sites are often suspected sources of air pollution due to legacy sediment and water contamination.

Emissions of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons from Natural Gas Extraction into Air.

Natural gas extraction, often referred to as "fracking", has increased rapidly in the United States in recent years. To address potential health impacts, passive air samplers were deployed in a rural community heavily affected by the natural gas boom. Samplers were analyzed for 62 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

PAH and OPAH Flux during the Deepwater Horizon Incident.

Passive sampling devices were used to measure air vapor and water dissolved phase concentrations of 33 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 22 oxygenated PAHs (OPAHs) at four Gulf of Mexico coastal sites prior to, during and after shoreline oiling from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWH). Measurements were taken at each site over a 13 month period, and flux across the water-air boundary was determined. This is the first report of vapor phase and diffusive flux of both PAHs and OPAHs during the DWH.

Impact of natural gas extraction on PAH levels in ambient air.

Natural gas extraction, often referred to as "fracking," has increased rapidly in the U.S. in recent years.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and oxygenated PAH (OPAH) air-water exchange during the deepwater horizon oil spill.

Passive sampling devices were used to measure air vapor and water dissolved phase concentrations of 33 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 22 oxygenated PAHs (OPAHs) at four Gulf of Mexico coastal sites prior to, during, and after shoreline oiling from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWH). Measurements were taken at each site over a 13 month period, and flux across the water-air boundary was determined. This is the first report of vapor phase and flux of both PAHs and OPAHs during the DWH.

Improvements in pollutant monitoring: optimizing silicone for co-deployment with polyethylene passive sampling devices.

Sequestering semi-polar compounds can be difficult with low-density polyethylene (LDPE), but those pollutants may be more efficiently absorbed using silicone. In this work, optimized methods for cleaning, infusing reference standards, and polymer extraction are reported along with field comparisons of several silicone materials for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and pesticides. In a final field demonstration, the most optimal silicone material is coupled with LDPE in a large-scale study to examine PAHs in addition to oxygenated-PAHs (OPAHs) at a Superfund site.