消防員急慢性健康危害之探討

由於工業新產品投入建築、裝潢和傢俱材料，一旦發生火災，這些材料形成非常複雜的燃燒產物。一般不被認為有毒物質燃燒後，可產生多種有害氣體或致癌物。燃燒之有害產物包括有毒氣體如一氧化碳、氮氧化物，二氧化硫或鹵化物；和致癌物如石棉，重金屬，多環類芳香烴，苯或氯乙烯單體等。有毒氣體造成呼吸道的刺激作用，長期暴露則可能造成非特異性呼現道症狀的增加或肺功能的降低，甚至引起心臟血管疾病或死亡率的昇高。致癌物的暴露則可能造成消防員癌症的增加。消防員可能曝露於多種且複雜的化合物下，但是其真正暴露物質或量隨火災種類和燃燒情形之不同而有所改變，很難測定火場中的真正暴露。因此，定期偵測消防員的健康狀況變成預防危害的重要方法。本文的目的即回顧過去文獻以探討消防員潛在的急性或慢性危害。消防員的急性危害包括溫度、噪音、心理壓力、意外傷害和有害氣體造成的肺部傷害。長期暴露造成的慢性危害包括肺功能受損，非癌症性呼吸道疾病，心臟血管疾病和癌症。由流行病學調查方法的限制，慢性危害的證據目前不是很充足，救火與慢性危害之因果關係尚待更多的研究來確定。

關鍵字

消防員；健康危害；施行病學研究

並列摘要

A great variety of plastics, additives and synthetic materials are now widely used in furnishings, appliances, building materials and coatings, this has made the composition of combustion products more complex in recent decades. Although the majority of these substances are not normally considered hazardous, some can be converted into toxic gases and chemical carcinogens by heat and combustion. Fire fighters are potentially exposed to toxic substances during fire fighting. The toxic gases generated in the process of combustion include carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and halogen acids. Carcinogens which may be encountered during fire fighting are asbestos, heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), benzene or vinyl chloride monomer. The inhalation of toxic gases results in irritation of the respiratory tract, an increase in respiratory symptoms and even cardiovascular diseases. Exposure to carcinogens may increase the risk of cancer. Although the potential for exposure to toxic substances is great, it is nearly impossible in a real fire situation to ascertain what specific combustion products and what amounts of such products are generated during the fire and which agents might be responsible for hazards. Therefore, periodical monitoring of health effects is an alternative for control of occupational hazards. The purpose of this review was to elucidate the acute and chronic health effects of fire fighters potentially exposed to a mixture of toxic substances. The acute health hazards of fire fighters include temperature, noise, stress, accidents and pulmonary lesions caused by inhalation of toxic gases. The chronic exposure to combustion products may lead to pulmonary function defects, respiratory disorders, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Conflicts existing in the limited epidemiological studies of the chronic health effects, indicate that more studies are warranted to determine the long-term effects of fire fighting.

並列關鍵字

Fire fighters ； health hazards ； epidemiologic studies

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消防員急慢性健康危害之探討

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