Project IRSST

Biological monitoring of firefighter exposure to benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) and aromatic amines during a fire at a tire dumpClaude Viau / Université de Montréal
Claude Tremblay / Hôpital Charles-Lemoyne
Ben Armstrong / Université McGill
Michel Bertrand, Jules Brodeur / Université de Montréal
Louis Jacques / Hôpital Charles-Lemoyne


0091-1410 : Completed

Firefighters involved in extinguishing a fire at a tire dump in Saint-Amable may have suffered acute or subacute exposure to benzo(a)pyrene or aromatic amines. Although such exposure is almost impossible to evaluate from environmental measurements, it appears feasible to evaluate it through the measurement of protein adducts, complexes formed between certain toxic products or their metabolites and molecules occurring naturally in the body. The blood concentrations of protein adducts was measured in exposed firefighters and a group of unexposed matched controls. The results revealed low exposure to benzo(a)pyrene and exposure to aromatic amines at concentrations significantly higher than background levels. The concentration of aromatic amine adducts in exposed firefighters did not differ from that in controls seven months after exposure, indicating elimination of these substances during this period.



IRSST publications
Viau, Claude; Tremblay, Claude
Surveillance biologique de l'exposition des pompiers au benzo(a)pyrène et aux amines aromatiques à la suite d'un incendie dans un dépotoir de pneus   (Biological monitoring of fire fighter exposure to benzo(a)pyrene and aromatic amines following a fire in a tire dump)
Études et recherches / Rapport  R-184, Montréal, IRSST, 1998, 130 pages. Free download   More Info

Scientific publications and communicationsBouchard M.,  Viau C. 
Benzo(a)pyrenediolepoxide-hemoglobin adducts and 3-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene urinary excretion profiles in rats subchronically exposed to benzo(a)pyrene
Archives of Toxicology, vol. 69, no 8, 1995, p. 540-546.

Bouchard M.,  Dodd C.,  Viau C. 
Improved procedure for the high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of monohydroxylated PAH metabolites in urine
Journal of Analytical Toxicology, vol. 18, 1994, p. 261-264.

Viau C.,  Carrier G. 
Kinetics of hemoglobin and albumin adducts in rabbits subchronically exposed to benzo(a)pyrene
Fundamental and Applied Toxicology, vol. 24, 1995, p. 140-144.

Viau C.,  Vyskocil A. 
Patterns of 1-hydroxypyrene excretion in volunteers exposed to pyrene by the dermal route
The Science of the Total Environment, vol. 163, 1995, p. 187-190.

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