Hydrocarbon fuels, occupational exposure

Incendiary and explosive devices are used in most terrorist attacks. As a result of combustion of fuel and hazardous materials, PAHs are released in high volumes. Exposure of civilians or deployed personnel to fumes containing PAHs constitutes an acute exposure scenario. Additionally, defense forces involved in extinguishing oil well fires, and cleanup tasks are exposed to low levels of PAHs over a more protracted time period. In addition, over 1.3 million civilian and military personnel are occupationally exposed to hydrocarbon fuels, particularly gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuel, or kerosene on a near daily basis. Studies have reported acute or persisting neurotoxic effects from acute, subchronic, or chronic exposure of humans or animals to hydrocarbon fuels (Ritchie et n/., 2001), specifically burning of jet fuels, which release PAHs in considerable proportions. 

The subcommittee further concludes that in addition to inhalation exposures, the potential exists for a substantial contribution to the overall JP-8 exposure by the dermal route, including mucous membranes and the eyes, either by contact with vapors and aerosols or by direct skin contact with JP-8. It should be noted that earlier this year, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists proposed a Threshold Limit Value for kerosene and j et fuels, as a total hydrocarbon vapor, of200 mg/m3.2 Also, ExxonMobil Biomedical Sciences, Inc., has set an occupational exposure level of 5 mg/m3 for kerosene and middle distillate fuel aerosols.3... 

Snawder and Butler (2001) collected venous blood and urine from 107 people who worked at six U.S. Air Force bases (AFBs) Davis Monthan AFB, Arizona Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina Langley AFB, Virginia Pope, AFB, North Carolina Little Rock AFB, Arkansas and Hurlbert Field, Florida. The exposed workers were fuel tank-entry personnel with persistent exposure to jet fuel (defined as a 1-hr entry twice a week for at least 9 months). The unexposed group consisted of Air Force personnel who had no important occupational exposure to hydrocarbon solvents or fuels. The participants... 

Chemical contaminants may bind to and react with keratin proteins in the stratum comeum of the skin in occupational exposures under field conditions. The tapestripping method was successfully applied for the removal and quantification of keratin from the stratum comeum for normahzation of extracted amoimts of naphthalene (marker hydrocarbon of jet fuel) from human volimteers experimentally exposed to JP-8 jet fuel (Chao and Nylander-French, 2004). Another study indicated that the naphthalene has a short retention time in the human stratum comeum, and that the tape-stripping method, if used within 20 min of the initial exposure, can be used to determine the amoimt of naphthalene initially in the stratum comeum following a single jet fuel exposure (Mattorano et al., 2004). These studies emphasized... 

---