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Prescribed burning represents a serious threat to the personnel fighting fires because of smoke
inhalation. This study aims to increase the knowledge about foresters exposure to the prescribed
burning smoke by focusing on exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs). We initially assessed
the methodology for smoke sampling. Then, we identified pot...
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... vegetation through a heat-resistant Teflon tube. The smoke was then stocked in 25 L bags. Sampling was carried out for 30 min at a flow rate of 500 mL min −1 . The distance between the sampling area and the fire front varied depending on the natural fire spread. Sampling began at the fire ignition 25 until the fire reached the sampling point (Fig. 1). The sampling area was located in the middle of the plot, had a height ranging from 20 cm to 2 m ( Fig. 1 The second device was composed of a portable pump connected to Tenax TA ® tubes (Fig. 1). The tubes were placed in the breast pocket of a firefighter's jacket. Smoke emissions were measured in mixed samples (without distinguishing ...
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... carried out for 30 min at a flow rate of 500 mL min −1 . The distance between the sampling area and the fire front varied depending on the natural fire spread. Sampling began at the fire ignition 25 until the fire reached the sampling point (Fig. 1). The sampling area was located in the middle of the plot, had a height ranging from 20 cm to 2 m ( Fig. 1 The second device was composed of a portable pump connected to Tenax TA ® tubes (Fig. 1). The tubes were placed in the breast pocket of a firefighter's jacket. Smoke emissions were measured in mixed samples (without distinguishing between the flam- ing and smoldering phases) during the prescribed burning. The distances between the ...
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... area and the fire front varied depending on the natural fire spread. Sampling began at the fire ignition 25 until the fire reached the sampling point (Fig. 1). The sampling area was located in the middle of the plot, had a height ranging from 20 cm to 2 m ( Fig. 1 The second device was composed of a portable pump connected to Tenax TA ® tubes (Fig. 1). The tubes were placed in the breast pocket of a firefighter's jacket. Smoke emissions were measured in mixed samples (without distinguishing between the flam- ing and smoldering phases) during the prescribed burning. The distances between the sampling area and the fire front ranged from 1 m to 10 m, corresponding to the position 5 of ...
Citations
... The BTEX compounds are mostly related to anthropogenic sources, such as gasoline and diesel (Bolden et al., 2015). They can also be emitted by biomass burning (Warneke et al., 2011; Romagnoli et al., 2014). Recent studies indicate strong evidence that toluene can also be emitted by plants in forest regions (Cust odio et al., 2010; Misztal et al., 2015). ...
The Amazon region is one of the most significant natural ecosystems on the planet. Of special interest as a major study area is the interface between the forest and Manaus city, a state capital in Brazil embedded in the heart of the Amazon forest. In view of the interactions between natural and anthropogenic processes, an integrated experiment was conducted measuring the concentrations of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and meta, ortho, para-xylene (known as BTEX), all of them regarded as pollutants with harmful effects on human health and vegetation and acting also as important precursors of tropospheric ozone. Furthermore, these compounds also take part in the formation of secondary organic aerosols, which can influence the pattern of cloud formation, and thus the regional water cycle and climate. The samples were collected in 2012/2013 at three different sites: (i) The Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO), a pristine rain forest region in the central Amazon Basin; (ii) Manacapuru, a semi-urban site located southwest and downwind of Manaus as a preview of the Green Ocean Amazon Experiment (GoAmazon 2014/15); and (iii) the city of Manaus (distributed over three sites). Results indicate that there is an increase in pollutant concentrations with increasing proximity to urban areas. For instance, the benzene concentration ranges were 0.237–19.6 (Manaus), 0.036–0.948 (Manacapuru) and 0.018–0.313 μg m−3 (ATTO). Toluene ranges were 0.700–832 (Manaus), 0.091–2.75 μg m−3 (Manacapuru) and 0.011–4.93 (ATTO). For ethylbenzene, they were 0.165–447 (Manaus), 0.018–1.20 μg m−3 (Manacapuru) and 0.047–0.401 (ATTO). Some indication was found for toluene to be released from the forest. No significant difference was found between the BTEX levels measured in the dry season and the wet seasons. Furthermore, it was observed that, in general, the city of Manaus seems to be less impacted by these pollutants than other cities in Brazil and in other countries, near the coastline or on the continent. A risk analysis for the health of Manaus' population was performed and indicated that the measured concentrations posed a risk for development of chronic diseases and cancer for the population of Manaus.
... 2.4.1. Occupational exposure limits (OEL) for workers The OEL for human is defined by the European directive, in accordance with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and American Conference of Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), for some hazardous VOCs inhaled by workers (Romagnoli et al., 2014). Due to both acute and chronic health problems, ACGIH standards are updated annually to recommend maximum worker chemical exposure in workplaces but are not legally limited or regulated. ...
