Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42497664›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of hygiene and environmental health2026

Urinary biomarkers of PAHs, VOCs, OPEs, and metal(loid)s in firefighters responding in the wildland urban interface (WUI).

Miriam M Calkins, Alexander C Mayer, Derek J Urwin, Steve Bertke, Christine Toennis, Shawn C Beitel, Jeff Hughes, Jamie Gabriel, Antonia M Calafat, Christopher M Reese and 9 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of hygiene and environmental health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors.

Miriam M CalkinsNational Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cincinnati, OH, USA; Duke University, Division of Environmental Natural Sciences, Durham, NC, USA.
Alexander C MayerNational Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cincinnati, OH, USA. Electronic address: Nru1@cdc.gov.
Derek J UrwinLos Angeles County Fire Department, USA; Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; International Association of Fire Fighters, Washington, D.C, USA.
Steve BertkeNational Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Christine ToennisNational Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Shawn C BeitelZuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Jeff HughesOrange County Fire Authority, USA.
Jamie GabrielLos Angeles County Fire Department, USA.
Antonia M CalafatDivision of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Christopher M ReeseDivision of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Julianne Cook BotelhoDivision of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Maria OspinaDivision of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Cynthia D Ward-MomonDivision of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Jeffery M JarrettDivision of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Alberto J Caban-MartinezLeonard M. Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA.
Judith M GraberRutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, MJ, USA.
Deborah SammonsNational Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Kathleen M DuBoseOffice of Wildland Fire, Department of the Interior, USA.
Jefferey L BurgessZuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.

Funding

Intramural CDC HHS CC999999
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Firefighters suppressing wildland urban interface (WUI) fires may be exposed to smoke from burning vegetation as well as structures and vehicles. To better understand firefighters' internal dose exposures in the WUI environment, 250 firefighters from Southern California were enrolled into the Fire Fighter Cancer Cohort Study (FFCCS) in 2019, providing urine samples at enrollment and post-fire. One-hundred and twenty-five post-fire samples were collected from 89 participants. Samples were analyzed for metal(loid)s and metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and organophosphate esters (OPEs). We assessed the difference between creatinine-corrected urine concentrations for each chemical at enrollment compared with post-fire, controlling for the individual participant. We also compared these concentrations to the general U.S. population concentrations from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists Biological Exposure Indices (BEIs) when available. All seven PAH and 11 VOC metabolite concentrations increased significantly from enrollment to post-fire. Diphenyl phosphate, antimony, and cadmium also significantly increased from enrollment to post-fire. Maximum post-fire concentrations in firefighters also exceeded the BEI for 1-hydroxyprene and trans,trans-muconic acid (a metabolite of benzene). Firefighters assigned to structure defense had significantly higher increases in PAH metabolites compared to those assigned to wildland firefighting tasks. Personal protective equipment (PPE) usage was not evaluated in this study, but future studies could combine personal sampling with the collection of detailed PPE usage to develop effective practices and decontamination strategies during WUI fire responses.

Indexed as

Air Pollutants, OccupationalFirefightersMetalsOccupational ExposureOrganophosphatesPolycyclic Aromatic HydrocarbonsVolatile Organic CompoundsAdultBiomarkersCaliforniaFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedAir Pollutants, OccupationalBiomarkersMetalsOrganophosphatesPolycyclic Aromatic HydrocarbonsVolatile Organic CompoundsFirefighterMetalsOPEsPAHsVOCsWildland-urban interfaceWUI

Identifiers

PMID42497664
PMCPMC13483172

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.