Hazard Review Focuses on Wildland Fire Smoke Exposures among Outdoor Workers
A new NIOSH draft hazard review is the first authoritative document released at the federal level that focuses on wildland fire smoke exposure among outdoor workers. The draft document aims to evaluate the health effects of smoke from wildland fires on this workforce and provides recommendations for workplace controls to reduce exposures.
NIOSH notes that wildland fires include wildfires, prescribed or planned fires, and fires that occur at the wildland-urban interface, which a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report describes as “the area where structures and other human development meet undeveloped wildland or vegetation fuels.” According to the agency, outdoor workers are at increased risk of adverse health effects from wildland fire smoke exposures because traditional exposure control measures are difficult to implement outdoors, where these workers spend hours on the job.
Farmworkers comprise a large proportion of the outdoor workforce—approximately 800,000 to 1.5 million workers—and workers in construction, transportation, installation, maintenance and repair, fishing, and forestry occupations are also potentially exposed to wildland fire smoke. While NIOSH recognizes that wildland firefighters are also at risk, the new draft hazard review does not focus on hazards associated with smoke exposure among this group.
“The decision to focus on other outdoor working populations was based on important differences in exposure potential, training, medical surveillance, and risk management options available to wildland firefighters compared with other working populations,” the draft document explains.
NIOSH’s draft hazard review identifies PM2.5, or particulates with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 microns or less, as “the primary hazard of concern with respect to exposure related to health effects” from wildland fire smoke, which contains a mixture of gas and particulate chemicals. Previous authoritative reviews by U.S. and international agencies identified strong evidence linking PM2.5 exposures with cardiorespiratory effects, cancer, and death. Other chemicals present in wildland fire smoke include carbon monoxide, ozone, aldehydes, benzene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, other hazardous air pollutants, and particulate matter.
NIOSH is seeking input on the draft hazard review until Nov. 12. The agency asks commenters to focus their feedback on issues related to the understandability, accessibility, and feasibility of the recommendations outlined in the document. A list of specific questions NIOSH would like input on can be found in the Federal Register. The questions focus on several topics, including the characterization of outdoor worker populations, exposure assessment methods for wildland fire smoke, and for controlling exposures.
The draft document can be found in the docket on Regulations.gov. To learn more about the hazard review and the comment process, see the Federal Register notice and NIOSH’s news release.
Related: Read “From Fire Season to Fire Year” and “Reflections on Wildland Firefighting.”