Fire-fighting service – Exposure screening

The approximately 40,000 full-time and 1.3 million volunteer firefighters in Germany are exposed to a number of carcinogenic hazardous substances during their work on fire emergencies. The real exposure situation of firefighters during fire operations in Germany was not sufficiently known so far. The project IPA-143-HBM-Firefighters has provided first insights for German fire departments.

Aim
The project IPA-143-HBM-firefighter on other fire scenarios, such as fighting vegetation fires and on female firefighters are missing so far. These will be generated in this project.

Study design
Biomonitoring of fire fighters under defined scenarios. In addition to measuring PAHs, benzene, heavy metals, endocrine disruptors and other substances by means of biomonitoring, air measurements will be carried out at the operation and work sites. The level of dermal exposure is to be determined by examining the cotton undergarments worn under the operational clothing. The development of a biobank for subsequent, further analyses is also included in the project.