| Title: | Non-targeted GC/MS analysis of exhaled breath samples: Exploring human biomarkers of exogenous exposure and endogenous response from professional firefighting activity |
| Author(s): | Geer Wallace MA; Pleil JD; Oliver KD; Whitaker DA; Mentese S; Fent KW; Horn GP; |
| Address: | "a Office of Research and Development, National Exposure Research Laboratory , U.S. Environmental Protection Agency , Research Triangle Park , NC , USA. b Department of Environmental Engineering , Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University , Merkez/Canakkale , Turkey. c Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations and Field Studies , National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) , Cincinnati , OH , USA. d Illinois Fire Service Institute , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Champaign , IL , USA" |
| Journal Title: | J Toxicol Environ Health A |
| DOI: | 10.1080/15287394.2019.1587901 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1528-7394 (Print) 0098-4108 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "A non-targeted analysis workflow was applied to analyze exhaled breath samples collected from firefighters pre- and post-structural fire suppression. Breath samples from firefighters functioning in attack and search positions were examined for target and non-target compounds in automated thermal desorption-GC/MS (ATD-GC/MS) selected ion monitoring (SIM)/scan mode and reviewed for prominent chemicals. Targeted chemicals included products of combustion such as benzene, toluene, xylenes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) that serve as a standard assessment of exposure. Sixty unique chemical features representative of exogenous chemicals and endogenous compounds, including single-ring aromatics, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile sulfur-containing compounds, aldehydes, alkanes, and alkenes were identified using the non-targeted analysis workflow. Fifty-seven out of 60 non-targeted features changed by at least 50% from pre- to post-fire suppression activity in at least one subject, and 7 non-targeted features were found to exhibit significantly increased or decreased concentrations for all subjects as a group. This study is important for (1) alerting the firefighter community to potential new exposures, (2) expanding the current targeted list of toxicants, and (3) finding biomarkers of response to firefighting activity as reflected by changes in endogenous compounds. Data demonstrate that there are non-targeted compounds in firefighters' breath that are indicative of environmental exposure despite the use of protective gear, and this information may be further utilized to improve the effectiveness of personal protective equipment" |
| Keywords: | "Adult Air Pollutants, Occupational/*analysis Biomarkers/*analysis *Breath Tests Female *Firefighters Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Humans Male Middle Aged Occupational Exposure/*analysis Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons/*analysis Volatile Organic C;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineGeer Wallace, M Ariel Pleil, Joachim D Oliver, Karen D Whitaker, Donald A Mentese, Sibel Fent, Kenneth W Horn, Gavin P eng EPA999999/ImEPA/Intramural EPA/ Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. England 2019/03/26 J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2019; 82(4):244-260. doi: 10.1080/15287394.2019.1587901. Epub 2019 Mar 23" |
