The Provision of Literature Review on the Potential Health Effects from Smoke Exposure During the First 24 hours

⁠⁠⁠In March 2014, the Victorian Government established an independent Board of Inquiry to investigate and report on the circumstances of the Hazelwood Mine fire, the associated emergency response, and the support provided to affected communities. The Inquiry produced 18 recommendations for consideration by the State of Victoria. Recommendation 9 identified the need for an integrated state smoke guide to manage the public health impacts from large-scale, significant and prolonged events that generate smoke and emissions to support employers, communities and individuals on how to minimise the harmful effects of smoke. In response to this recommendation, a State Smoke Framework was developed by Emergency Management Victoria (EMV), the Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS), the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB), the Country Fire Authority (CFA), the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), and the Environment Protection Authority (EPA). Since its inception in 2015 the State Smoke Framework has been implemented a number of times in response to significant or prolonged events that generate smoke or other emissions.

A review into the 2015 tip fire which occurred on in Patullos Lane, Somerton (outer Melbourne) and was led by EMV, identified that, ‘future application of the Framework would be assisted by finalisation of agency procedures, development of systems to better manage atmospheric monitoring data, provision of training to emergency responders and incident/emergency management personnel and conducting multi-agency exercises focused on smoke management.’

The smoke generated by major emergencies in urban settings such as tyre stockpile fires, landfill or transfer station fires, and chemical or industrial fires has the potential for a significant and adverse impact on communities. In addition, firefighters and other emergency responders working on or near the fire-ground may be exposed to a range of hazardous atmospheric chemicals, which can have both immediate and long term impacts on health and safety. Various studies have found that firefighters suffer from increased rates of certain types of cancer. For example the 2014 Australian Firefighters’ Health Study found that for male career firefighters, cancer incidence was significantly higher than for the Australian population.[1] The exact cause of the increased cancer incidence is unknown, but long term exposure to low doses of chemicals from smoke may be one of the reasons.

Specific exposures to hazardous combustion by-products of burning materials of concern, due to their potential respiratory toxicity, that have been identified in the literature include: (1) asphyxiants (such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide), (2) irritants (such as ammonia, hydrogen chloride, particulates (in particular fine particulates), nitrogen oxides, phenol and sulfur dioxide), (3) allergens, and (4) carcinogens (such as asbestos, benzene, styrene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and certain heavy metals).[2]