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Characterization of Metal Content in the Saliva of Firefighters: A Preliminary Study

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Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health V

Part of the book series: Studies in Systems, Decision and Control ((SSDC,volume 492))

Abstract

Exposure to chemical pollutants, such as metals, can cause adverse health effects on human health. Firefighters are occupationally exposed to metals during firefighting activities as well as at fire stations. The aim of this study is to characterize the levels of metals in the saliva of firefighters during regular activities performed at fire stations. Non-smoking firefighters collected spot saliva samples during a regular working day at the fire station. Samples were treated and analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The cumulative concentrations of the 16 metals in the saliva of firefighters varied from 10.87 to 73.64 µg/L (median of 25.40 µg/L). The individual metal concentrations ranged between 6.361 × 10–3 µg/L for Cd and 4.550 µg/L for Mn. The salivary metal concentrations determined in firefighters were lower than the values reported for workers from industries whereas the levels were higher than in non-smokers and non-occupationally exposed groups. The analysis of saliva is a promising biomonitoring tool to characterize occupational exposures to metals. Additional studies including a higher number of participants performing different tasks and the inclusion of other biological fluids are needed to corroborate these findings and to better characterize firefighters´ occupational exposure.

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Acknowledgements

This work received support from UIDB/50006/2020, UIDP/50006/2020, LA/P/0008/2020, PCIF/SSO/0017/2018, and 2022.05381.PTDC by FCT/MCTES. M. Oliveira, and F. Rodrigues, are thankful to the scientific contracts CEECIND/03666/2017 and CEECIND/01886/2020, respectively. G. Sousa thanks the PhD grant 2021.08526.BD, supported by FCT-MCTES, Programa Por_Norte, and European Union through Fundo Social Europeu. The team would also like to acknowledge the commanders and firefighters for the participation in this study.

Funding

This work received financial support from the project PCIF/SSO/0090/2019 by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (MCTES), through national funds.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. REQUIMTE/LAQV-Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Instituto Politécnico do Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Gabriel Sousa, Cristina Delerue-Matos, Francisca Rodrigues & Marta Oliveira

  2. Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Gabriel Sousa

  3. REQUIMTE/LAQV—Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, 4050-313, Porto, Portugal

    Rui Azevedo & Agostinho Almeida

  4. QAEHS, Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

    Xianyu Wang

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  1. Gabriel Sousa
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  2. Rui Azevedo
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  3. Agostinho Almeida
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  4. Cristina Delerue-Matos
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  5. Xianyu Wang
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  7. Marta Oliveira
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Correspondence to Marta Oliveira .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Production and Systems, School of Engineering, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal

    Pedro M. Arezes

  2. Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

    Rui B. Melo

  3. Department of Production and Systems, School of Engineering, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal

    Paula Carneiro

  4. Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Jacqueline Castelo Branco

  5. School of Engineering, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal

    Ana Colim

  6. Department of Production and Systems School of Engineering, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal

    Nélson Costa

  7. School of Engineering, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal

    Susana Costa

  8. Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Joana Duarte

  9. Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Joana C. Guedes

  10. Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Gonçalo Perestrelo

  11. Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    J. Santos Baptista

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Sousa, G. et al. (2024). Characterization of Metal Content in the Saliva of Firefighters: A Preliminary Study. In: Arezes, P.M., et al. Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health V. Studies in Systems, Decision and Control, vol 492. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38277-2_25

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