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Author(s):
Jooyeon Hwang, Ngee Sing Chong, Mengliang Zhang, Robert J. Agnew, Chao Xu, Zhuangjie Li, Xin Xu
Year Published:

Cataloging Information

Topic(s):
Prescribed Fire-use treatments
Smoke Emissions
Wildland Firefighter Health
Wildland Urban Interface

NRFSN number: 25620
FRAMES RCS number: 67852
Record updated:

As wildfire risks have elevated due to climate change, the health risks that toxicants from fire smoke pose to wildland firefighters have been exacerbated. Recently, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has reclassified wildland firefighters’ occupational exposure as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1). Wildfire smoke contributes to an increased risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease, yet wildland firefighters have inadequate respiratory protection. The economic cost of wildland fires has risen concurrently, as illustrated by the appropriation of $45 billion for wildfire management over FYs 2011–2020 by the U.S. Congress. Occupational epidemiological studies of wildland firefighters are crucial for minimizing health risks; however, they must account for the mixture of exposures in wildfire smoke. This review focuses on four aspects of wildland firefighters’ health risks at the wildland-urban interface: 1) economic costs and health impact, 2) respiratory protection, 3) multipollutant mixtures, and 4) proactive management of wildfires.

Citation

Hwang, Jooyeon; Chong, Ngee-Sing; Zhang, Mengliang; Agnew, Robert J.; Xu, Chao; Li, Zhuangjie; Xu, Xin. 2023. Face-to-face with scorching wildfire: potential toxicant exposure and the health risks of smoke for wildland firefighters at the wildland-urban interface. The Lancet Regional Health - Americas 21:100482.

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