Abstract

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.