A systematic review of the health impacts of occupational exposure to wildland fires

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to summarize the evidence of health impacts of occupational exposure to wildland fires. The authors searched 3 databases for relevant articles and screened the results. After full-text review, articles were included based on predetermined criteria. The authors identified 32 relevant articles. Occupational exposure to wildland fires affects lung function in the short term and may increase the risk of hypertension in the long term. Exposure to wildland fires is also associated with post-traumatic stress symptoms. There was insufficient evidence to comment on most longer-term risks, and in particular on respiratory disease or cancer risks. Further research is required to understand whether occupational exposure to wildland fires results in clinically significant impacts on respiratory function, and to further clarify the relationship between occupational exposure and blood pressure, mental health, and cancer outcomes.

Controlled human exposures to wood smoke: a synthesis of the evidence

“…Several reviews have been published looking at the health effects of WS exposure [3,6,[12][13][14][15]. These have focused mainly on epidemiology, animal exposure, or in vitro studies.…”

Exploring prevention and mitigation strategies to reduce the health impacts of occupational exposure to wildfires for wildland firefighters and related personnel: protocol of a scoping study

“…It is important to include this literature as health impacts and mitigation strategies may have been developed or initially evaluated in a prescribed burn situation. Inclusion of prescribed burn situations aligns with the government definition of wildfires in BC [1] and the concept of wildfires utilized in a 2019 review by Groot et al [13].…”

“…This search identified four reviews: a critical review of the health impacts of wildfire smoke exposure [10], a review of health effects for both firefighters and the public [11], a systematic review of health impacts from non-occupational exposure [12], and a systematic review examining the health impacts of occupational exposure published in early 2019 [13]. This most recent review reports that research in this field is challenging due to the unpredictability of fire seasons which impacts research plans, and understanding the health impacts faced by wildland firefighters is limited due to the seasonality of work as tracking firefighters for more than one season proves difficult [13]. Much of the research is inconclusive in regard to longterm health impacts [13].…”

“…This most recent review reports that research in this field is challenging due to the unpredictability of fire seasons which impacts research plans, and understanding the health impacts faced by wildland firefighters is limited due to the seasonality of work as tracking firefighters for more than one season proves difficult [13]. Much of the research is inconclusive in regard to longterm health impacts [13]. Most research completed to date looks at the cardiovascular or respiratory impacts from wildfire exposure [12,13], and there is a continued need to look at the health impacts holistically-physical, mental, and emotional.…”

“…Much of the research is inconclusive in regard to longterm health impacts [13]. Most research completed to date looks at the cardiovascular or respiratory impacts from wildfire exposure [12,13], and there is a continued need to look at the health impacts holistically-physical, mental, and emotional. Further, these reviews lack a focus on other personnel beyond firefighters who may also be engaged in wildfire fighting activities such as contract crews and incident management teams.…”