National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; Outdoor Workers Exposed to Wildland Fire Smoke; Request for Information, 18638-18639 [2024-05403]

Agencies

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 51 (Thursday, March 14, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18638-18639]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05403]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[Docket No. CDC-2024-0019, NIOSH-352]


National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; Outdoor 
Workers Exposed to Wildland Fire Smoke; Request for Information

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Request for information.

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SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) 
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), in the 
Department of Health and Human Services, announces an opportunity for 
the public to provide information about approaches to assess and 
control the hazards of wildland fire smoke to outdoor workers. Wildland 
fire smoke is a complex mixture of potentially toxic gases and 
particles that can vary depending on factors in the wildland or 
wildland urban interface environment, such as weather, fire behavior, 
and the type of materials or vegetation burning. Because of this, 
outdoor workers may be exposed to varying types and amounts of 
compounds in wildland fire smoke throughout their work shift or during 
different fire events and job tasks. NIOSH is seeking information to 
develop a hazard review document that summarizes the scientific 
literature about the health effects from exposures to wildland fire 
smoke and provides recommendations to protect outdoor workers.

DATES: Comments must be received by May 13, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted through either of the following 
two methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov 
(follow the instructions for submitting comments), or
     By Mail: NIOSH Docket Office, Robert A. Taft Laboratories, 
MS C-34, 1090 Tusculum Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226-1998.
    Instructions: All written submissions received in response to this 
notice must include the agency name (Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, HHS) and docket number (CDC-2024-0019, NIOSH-352) for this 
action. All relevant comments, including any personal information 
provided, will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: R. Todd Niemeier, 1090 Tusculum Ave., 
MS C-15, Cincinnati, OH 45226; Telephone (513) 533-8166 (this is not a 
toll-free number); Email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The hazard review development process will 
involve review and assessment of the scientific literature about 
exposures to wildland fire smoke, potential health effects, outdoor 
worker populations at risk, and development or updating of 
recommendations to protect outdoor workers. The purpose of the hazard 
review document is to provide an overview of the relevant health 
effects literature and develop evidence-based recommendations to 
protect outdoor workers, including farm workers, construction workers, 
oil and gas workers, park rangers, emergency responders, and others, 
from the adverse health effects of occupational exposure to wildland 
fire smoke. Scientific information related to wildland fire smoke is 
requested on the following topics:

 Properties and characteristics of wildland fire smoke mixtures
 Potential for occupational exposures to outdoor workers
 Health effects of exposures
 Outdoor worker populations at risk
 Exposure monitoring
 Risk management and control
 Research needs

    Wildland fire smoke is a complex mixture of gases and particles 
from burning vegetation and other materials. In some cases, this can 
include wildland urban interface environments, which are areas or zones 
where structures and other human development meet or intermingle with 
undeveloped wildland or vegetative fuels. Wildland fires can include 
wildfires and prescribed or controlled burns. As a wildland fire burns, 
different compounds are released in the smoke, such as particulate 
matter, carbon monoxide, benzene, formaldehyde, acrolein, polycyclic 
aromatic hydrocarbons, and other compounds. While exposure to wildland 
fire smoke has been of interest to researchers and public health 
professionals for decades, the hazards from wildland fire smoke are not 
fully understood. This is primarily due to the complexity of wildland 
fire smoke, as the smoke is made up of many different types and amounts 
of potentially toxic compounds and can change very quickly depending on 
factors in the environment, such as weather, fire behavior, and the 
type of vegetation burning. Because of this, workers may be exposed to 
varying types and amounts of compounds in wildland fire smoke, even in 
areas where smoke has migrated, throughout their work shift or during 
different fire events. Exposure also varies by the type of job task 
being performed.
    There is very limited published information about how exposure to 
wildland fire smoke impacts outdoor workers. However, taken together 
with research studies examining exposure to smoke from wildland fires 
among the public, along with assessments of the health effects of 
exposures to specific components of wildland fire smoke, there is clear 
potential for such exposures to result in adverse health outcomes. The 
risk of experiencing symptoms and adverse health effects due to smoke 
exposure varies from person to person. The variability of health 
effects and symptoms can also be impacted by variability in exposure 
based on distance from the fire, wind speed and direction, and local 
environmental factors. Workers can have different individual risk 
factors such as age and health conditions (e.g., pre-existing heart or 
lung disease) that make them more likely to be affected by wildland 
fire smoke. Some health effects known or suspected to be caused

[[Page 18639]]

by wildland fire smoke include [NIOSH 2023]:

 Symptoms such as eye irritation, sore throat, wheeze, and 
cough
 Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) 
exacerbations
 Bronchitis and pneumonia
 Adverse birth outcomes
 Cardiovascular (heart and blood vessel) outcomes

    Long work shifts and physical demands of the work performed 
(resulting in higher breathing rates) may impact a worker's exposures 
and health response to wildland fire smoke. Still, the scientific 
community does not fully understand how long-term, repeated exposures, 
or other exposures to wildland fire smoke may affect a worker's health. 
Additionally, very little is known about how exposure to many different 
compounds at the same time, including compounds released from the 
burning of man-made materials (such as those found in the wildland-
urban interface), may affect a worker's health.
    NIOSH plans to review and assess the available scientific evidence 
to support the development of recommendations to protect outdoor 
workers from wildland fire smoke. NIOSH currently recommends that 
employers be aware that exposure to wildland fire smoke may adversely 
affect the health of their workforce and be prepared to take action to 
limit their workers' exposures when a wildfire has emitted smoke in and 
around their work environment [NIOSH 2023].
    It is also currently recommended that employers and workers prepare 
for and plan to implement procedures to reduce exposures to smoke when 
necessary [NIOSH 2023]. As NIOSH continues to review and assess the 
scientific literature, recommendations will be developed and updated as 
necessary. Additional information and recommendations are available on 
the NIOSH Safety and Health Topic Page on Outdoor Workers Exposed to 
Wildfire Smoke (https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/firefighting/wffsmoke.html). NIOSH will update this Topic Page and recommendations 
as necessary to be consistent with the assessment of the information 
obtained from this RFI and the development of the hazard review.
    To reiterate, this RFI is intended to announce the opportunity for 
the public to provide NIOSH with information about approaches to assess 
and control the hazards of wildland fire smoke to outdoor workers to 
inform the development of a hazard review document. Scientific 
information related to wildland fire smoke is requested on the 
following topics:

 Properties and characteristics of wildland fire smoke mixtures
 Potential for occupational exposures to outdoor workers
 Health effects of exposures
 Outdoor worker populations at risk
 Exposure monitoring
 Risk management and control
 Research needs.

Reference

NIOSH [2023]. Outdoor workers exposed to wildfire smoke. Cincinnati, 
OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational 
Safety and Health, https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/firefighting/wffsmoke.html.

John J. Howard,
Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and 
Human Services.
[FR Doc. 2024-05403 Filed 3-13-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P