wildfire crews pay a heavy price in health - recommended air purifiers

80,000 men and women fighting wild fires across the country know that their lives are threatened by flames, high temperatures or falling debris.
But now, two new studies have shown that they also face an invisible danger: their health is plagued by toxic gases and soot from wildfire smoke.
Carbon monoxide is one of the culprit, it slows down the reaction and damages the judgment;
Tiny carbon particles attached to the lungs;
Aldehyde and acid that stimulate air channels and hydrocarbons
Tests show that these and other chemicals can destroy genes and cause cancer.
The only protection for field firefighters is the cotton handkerchief covering their faces, and after a regular season, their vital capacity lost as much as 10% and the loss lasted for weeks, according to research by the California Department of Health and the School of Health and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore.
Researchers tested the lungs of more than 100 California field firefighters around the 1988 and 1989 fire seasons.
Health experts also suspect that exposure to wildfire smoke can accelerate aging, lead to a fatal heart attack or cancer, and cause respiratory diseases such as chronic branch inflammation or asthma.
"After the fire, they will cough up something dark.
A week later, they thought they were back to normal.
But our research shows that their lungs are not back to normal . "
Dr. Robert Harrison, director of occupational health monitoring at the Health Department of California, who is in charge of one of the studies.
"For some firefighters, the decline in lung function is quite alarming.
Darold Ward said: "The most serious dose of carbon monoxide and other dangerous chemicals, may be fatal, will be released when the fire burns, firefighters are at this stage most of the time, an AmericanS.
Forest Service chemist
Mark Linane, the head of a national firefighter known as a "fire gun", said he saw field firefighters poisoned by carbon monoxide, who
These hazards are particularly serious in Southern California, which is more prone to smoke fires than anywhere else in the United States. Its four-
A year of drought has dried the grassland, and its stagnant weather conditions and terrain can cause smoke for several days.
In addition, forestry officials predict that 1990 fire seasons in the area will be devastating.
Yosemite fires have burned more than 15,000 acres and are still out of control. The recent fires in Santa Barbara and Glendale have destroyed nearly 500 houses, just the largest of hundreds of fires in the state.
"We still have a lot of Summers and we have burned 600 or 700 buildings," said Keith Metcalfe, deputy director of the fire brigade for the southern region of Riverside. " . . .
The fire burns faster and more violently due to drying.
"For nearly 10 years, city firefighters have learned that the toxic smoke from burning buildings and cars has greatly increased their chances of cancer and heart disease.
Long ago, the band that used to be their only protection was replaced by air tanks and masks. But the U. S.
Forest services, state and county fire officers were unable to protect their wildfire players because they knew there was not enough gear lights for firefighters to wear while hiking for miles in burning terrain, there are not enough toxic substances in the smoke.
In addition, providing protection to the crew has received little attention and little state or federal funding.
National Fire officials say they can't get help from Congress unless they can prove firefighters have died.
But since there is no funding for mortality studies, all they have is an old joke heard around the fire camp: try to find a wildland firefighter who is still breathing after the age of 60.
"It's a crime that we continue to make these guys work like this," said James Johnson, director of the risk control program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in northern California, which is developing breathing equipment for firefighters.
"They are a forgotten group and a hidden subset of people who are collectively ignored.
I have never seen anything like that in my 18 years of industrial hygiene experience. ".
In the past, firefighters thought cough and congestion were short-lived side effects.
But new health studies record physiological changes in the lungs and airways that do not disappear with smoke.
John Hopkins's test of 52 Northern California field firefighters during the 1988 season showed their lung function ---
Flow of oxygen-
Even after eight weeks of exposure, it was still reduced by 3%.
The researchers said they had not yet determined whether the lungs would heal between seasons or whether the damage would accumulate.
The California health department's test 63 firefighters found that they lost up to 10% of their lung function in a month,
The average monthly fire loss is 4%.
For many firefighters, lung blockage translates into bronchitis or walking pneumonia three times a year, said Lin, 46, who has been battling wildfire for 28 years.
"You take antibiotics and the antibiotics will eventually disappear," Linane said . ".
But it came back. And more often.
"In the four months of the Yellowstone National Park fire in 1988, 12,000 firefighters sought medical assistance for breathing problems, and about 600 firefighters needed medical care when they returned home. S.
Forest Services report.
Stan Stewart, 37, said he knew the job was dangerous when he joined Forest Services at 17.
But he did not know that he felt worse every year.
"The doctor told me that I had smoked 10 packs of cigarettes a day in my life.
But I have never smoked. "Stewart said he was a Spice Girl Foreman in the Los Padri National Forest near Augie.
"My lungs may have been shot.
I worry a little every year.
"Health researchers are often reluctant to intervene in policy decisions, and they say they feel strong enough about the harm of fire officers providing respiratory protection as soon as possible.
"We are not surprised that the lung function of firefighters has declined.
We just want to record it so that the fire agency can act . "
John Balmes, a lung expert and occupational health expert at the University of California, San Francisco, helped the state's research.
The Forestry Department and the fire department should at least warn their staff, Harrison said. -
And potential recruits. -
And consider rotating shifts more often to reduce smoke exposure.
Although the results of the national study have not yet been published, the news has spread to top officials in the state forestry sector, who said they are now starting to fill the agency's 3,500-
Time firefighters and about 2,000 seasonal firefighters.
"I don't want to wait for firefighters to die," said Jack Wester, head of fire planning and research.
"We have to solve this problem now.
"Part of the solution is to develop lightweight and long
Long lasting respirator.
The air tanks and masks used for fire fighting weigh 40 pounds and last only 15 to 30 minutes, so they are impractical for the wildfire team carrying up to 60 pounds of hoses and tools.
However, funding is needed to develop technology, and California forestry officials do not have funding.
"The breathing protection of field firefighters is right and wrongexistent.
We are thinking about it for a few years, at least before things go, "Wiest said.
Last year, researchers from the United StatesS.
Forest Services and John Hopkins University are asking Congress to pay $13. 4-million, four-
An annual study to analyze health threats and develop respiratory protection.
But William Sommers, director of Forest Fire Research at the National Wildfire Coordination Group, said there was very little state funding.
His team, which includes all federal and state agencies involved in wilderness fire fighting, now receives less than half of the research funding from 15 to 20 years ago.
This year, about $10 million, less than 1% of the federal government's use of fire fighting, was used for research.
No other federal agency is committed to this, says Sommers, especially when work is life --threatening. Other hazard-
He said that the emerging occupational groups, such as chemical workers and construction workers, are better protected.
Federal regulations require most employers to provide equipment to protect workers from dangerous smoke or other threats.
Firefighters themselves-
Traditionally they wave an attitude and if you can't stand the heat, you'll be free from the fire ---
Protection is now required.
Their shift in attitude was largely due to the unforgettable summer of California in 1987.
In the so-called "87 siege", 1,500 fires hit the klamas National Forest near California --
A month later, the Oregon border
A strong inversion layer settles into the valley, capturing the smoke all the way.
The fireman's coalition is concerned that the number of rescue workers has set a record number, asking John Hopkins University to send a doctor. Dr.
Patrick Ford, a medical resident specializing in occupational health, looks at the fireman's base camp, which is shrouded in thick black smoke.
"It was painful within a few hours of our arrival.
Burn your nose, throat, eyes.
It doesn't go away, "said Ford, who is now a professional medical doctor in the Philadelphia Navy.
The police at the camp called to direct the traffic and used a flashlight at noon because they could not see the front 20 yards.
Some police officers wear gas masks, Ford recalls, but firefighters wear only headscarves.
Staff sleeping in makeshift tents-
A piece of cotton on the clothesline.
Because the camp did not provide breathing time for smoke, firefighters breathe smoke 24 hours a day for weeks in a row.
Ford asked the firefighters about their health and was shocked by how many people had alarming symptoms.
He listened to their chest, and almost everyone heard the sound of breathing.
Candice Gregory, 33, the first female battalion chief of the California Forestry Department, recalled that 11 of her 15 crew members were ill.
"You really live in smoke.
You have been coughing after a while, "she said.
After the 1987 fire, Ford and other researchers from John Hopkins and the California health department immediately launched the study.
"It's a cliché talk, and you don't post traffic signals at dangerous intersections until a lot of people are killed," Wiest said . ".
Lin, 46, works for his 28-year-old fire season and will retire in a few years.
Looking back, he said: "It seems worth it when the adrenaline is soaring and you are saving property, life and important natural resources.
But when I retired, I coughed and vomited again, which could be another story.
"The doctor here advised me to do a full lung examination.
I said, yes, yes, of course.
But I never did it.
I'm afraid he'll tell me what's really going on.
We dare not do that.
None of us wanted to know how much lung function we really lost.
"Yosemite fire: Although the fire has slowed down, there is still a high degree of attention to the possible new lightning storm.
How Poison in smoke affects firefighters
Land firefighters are exposed to all kinds of toxic substances in the smoke of breathing.
When Forest materials or bushes are on fire, incomplete combustion turns harmless vegetation into a chain of dangerous chemicals. The Poisons: 1.
Carbon monoxide--
This invisible odor-free gas attacks the fireman's brain and nervous system, causing temporary disorientation, impaired judgment, and slower response times.
It also puts a lot of pressure on the heart. 2.
Inorganic compounds-
Including lead and sulfur, these materials vary greatly in smoke depending on the content of the soil.
Lead in high concentrations of smoke found in a field fire in Southern California can cause neurological damage. 3. Aldehydes--
These strong irritating substances, especially at high concentrations in smoke, are found to have aldehyde and formaldehyde.
They are thought to cause breathing, coughing and eye irritation on wildlife
Land fireman
Many of them are also carcinogens. 4. Particulates--
These small pieces of black charcoal go deep into the lungs and can lead to asthma, chronic bronchitis and cancer.
The smallest particles most dangerous to the lungs were found in the fire, and firefighters were in the fire most of the time. 5. Ozone--
When there is strong sunlight and smoke caught by stagnant weather patterns, this powerful chemical is formed in the fire.
Human trials have shown that ozone is also a major component of smog, which can hinder lung function, while animal tests have shown that ozone can cause chronic respiratory diseases. 6. Organic Acids--
These chemicals, which consist of a methyl acetate and acetic acid, are a strong stimulus to the lungs, eyes, and throat.
Protection: Wandana: Wild-
Land firefighters wear only a thin piece of cloth on their faces to protect their lungs from smoke.
Fire officials say they have not yet found portable breathing equipment that is effective and safe for the crew, and that the crew must go uphill wearing a 60 pounds-pound device.
Equipment: Standard equipment usually includes protective gear, helmets, goggles, boots and fire fighting facilities.
Flame retardant jumpsuit
Air purifier: firefighters at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory wear 1-
Air purifier.
The smoke-filled air passes through the filter to eliminate tiny soot particles that can stay in the lungs.
However, gases like carbon monoxide are not filtered out.
State and state fire officials remain vigilant about purifiers because they do not provide comprehensive smoke protection.
Multi-core aromatic hydrocarbons: these compounds considered to be cancer
Causing agent, attached to soot particles in the wildland fires.
Experts are not sure if these compounds can cause genetic damage to blood cells.