Qualitative Assessment of Off-Gassing of Compounds from Field-Contaminated Firefighter Jackets with Varied Air Exposure Time Intervals Using Headspace GC-MS
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Review of the
Manuscript ID: textiles-2381321
Title:
Qualitative assessment of off-gassing of compounds from field-contaminated firefighter jackets with varied air exposure time intervals using headspace GC-MS
Authors: Arjunsing Girase, Adhiraj Shinde, Robert Bryan Ormond
This manuscript presents a novel method for qualitatively assessing off-gassing of compounds from field-contaminated firefighter jackets at 200°, using headspace-GC-MS setup to identify and analyze several volatile and semi-volatile compounds off-gassing from firefighter gear samples at different time intervals of air exposure.
The manuscript is an important issue in the field. The experimental procedures were well designed. I appreciate that this is the beginning of a large research work.
Paper could be accepted for publication after minor revision, taking into account the following suggestions:
1. In the Introduction section, the novelty of these experiments should be emphasized
2. If knowing that there are such contaminants on the firefighter jackets, until the whole research is fulfilled, may you say how are the firefighters protected until then?
3. The Reference chapter should be extended.
Author Response
- In the Introduction section, the novelty of these experiments should be emphasized
Response: Added following statements:
This study will help in addressing the significant research gap in the field since existing studies have primarily focused on identifying contaminants on gear surfaces or evaluating decontamination procedures [24] [25] . There is a lack of comprehensive understanding regarding the extent to which contaminated gear off-gasses and poses a hazard to firefighters.
Therefore, this study aims to address this research gap by investigating the off-gassing of contaminants from field-contaminated firefighter jackets, using the innovative approach of headspace-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-GC-MS). The contaminants would be qualitatively analyzed for volatile and semi-volatile compounds released from the gear over different time intervals of air exposure. This research is unique in a way that it processed contaminated fabric samples from actual field burns and analyzed it using the tailor-made HS-GC-MS analytical method.
- If knowing that there are such contaminants on the firefighter jackets, until the whole research is fulfilled, may you say how are the firefighters protected until then?
Response: Added following statements
The off-gassing of these compounds emphasizes the need to incorporate various decontamination strategies such as preliminary exposure reduction, conventional washing etc to mitigate the chronic exposures. It is also advisable for the firefighters to bag the contaminated gear after use and keep it separate from areas where firefighters could breathe the chemicals directly.
Also there was one more statement that was already written in the conclusion chapter:
The method could also be used to study off-gassing of the volatile compounds after various decontamination studies, such as liquid CO2, which has been demonstrated to be more effective than conventional washing [27].
- The Reference chapter should be extended
Response:
Thank you for the comment. We have added a couple of references but the research topic itself is relatively new and very limited research is currently available
Reviewer 2 Report
1. Abstract. Please add more important experimental data.
2. Line 86-92. This paragraph should summarize the main research content of this work.
3. Line 57-59: The headspace-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry system has the capability to analyze the off-gassing of compounds from a substrate, provided the appropriate calibration standards are available. This method is also adopted by other research fields such as remote sensing, to quantify atmospheric water vapor concentration and vegetation chlorophyll concentration, as reported in "Requirement sensitivity studies for a future Landsat sensor", "Potential of Red Edge Spectral Bands in Future Landsat Satellites on Agroecosystem Canopy Chlorophyll Content Retrieval" and "System Engineering Analyses for the Study of Future Multispectral Land Imaging Satellite Sensors for Vegetation Monitoring"
4. Line 212-213. Please rewrite this sentence "where DEHP is di-ethylhexyl phthalate, NMNPF is N-methyl-N-phenyl-formamide and 2-PDFE is 2- propenoic acid heptadecafluorodecyl ester".
5. "Future Work" should be placed before "Conclusions".
Author Response
- Please add more important experimental data.
Responses: Added
- Line 86-92. This paragraph should summarize the main research content of this work.
Responses: Changed the paragraph to this:
The findings of this study are critical for better understanding the potential health risks associated with the off-gassing of contaminants from firefighter gear. This study will help in addressing the significant research gap in the field since existing studies have primarily focused on identifying contaminants on gear surfaces or evaluating decontamination procedures [23] [24] . There is a lack of comprehensive understanding regarding the extent to which contaminated gear off-gasses and poses a hazard to firefighters. Knowledge of the types of compounds off-gassing from contaminated gear can help to develop strategies to better protect firefighters from occupational exposure related to their profession. The possibility of highly volatile compounds off-gassing from the gear at ambient conditions, such as inside a fire station, could pose a significant respiratory hazard for personnel who are not wearing respiratory protection. Therefore, this study aims to address this research gap by investigating the off-gassing of contaminants from field-contaminated firefighter jackets, using the innovative approach of headspace-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-GC-MS) to qualitatively analyze the volatile and semi-volatile compounds released from the gear over different time intervals of air exposure.
- Line 57-59: The headspace-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry system has the capability to analyze the off-gassing of compounds from a substrate, provided the appropriate calibration standards are available. This method is also adopted by other research fields such as remote sensing, to quantify atmospheric water vapor concentration and vegetation chlorophyll concentration, as reported in "Requirement sensitivity studies for a future Landsat sensor", "Potential of Red Edge Spectral Bands in Future Landsat Satellites on Agroecosystem Canopy Chlorophyll Content Retrieval" and "System Engineering Analyses for the Study of Future Multispectral Land Imaging Satellite Sensors for Vegetation Monitoring"
Response: We read through the article that you referred, and we noticed that the research did not involve the technique of headspace-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for their research. We also believe that the article is out of scope as compared to the firefighter’s research that we have presented. We have attached the respective links for the study. Please let us know if these were incorrect links:
https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/conference-proceedings-of-spie/9607/1/Requirement-sensitivity-studies-for-a-future-Landsat-sensor/10.1117/12.2188482.full?SSO=1
https://www.proquest.com/docview/2126868950?parentSessionId=FyWNiFX2PVTz0L8Qpgl7wdpRFMnF8JmLGQIXq8CzZgQ%3D&pq-origsite=summon&parentSessionId=adR2KPWq73yzMj2loO1G3nMBARMfaJPfomi4krTDo1g%3D
- Line 212-213. Please rewrite this sentence "where DEHP is di-ethylhexyl phthalate, NMNPF is N-methyl-N-phenyl-formamide and 2-PDFE is 2- propenoic acid heptadecafluorodecyl ester".
Response: Deleted the statement
- "Future Work" should be placed before "Conclusions".
Response: In the template, the future work section is after the conclusion hence we kept the arrangement like that
Reviewer 3 Report
The author has conducted an in-depth study on the exhaust emission of toxic compounds in firefighters' equipment. I think the author's study is of great significance. But I think the author still needs to revise before accepting.
1. The author's references are too concentrated. I have read references 1-13 and found that some references are not relevant to this paper. The author should revise the document to make it correspond to the content.
2. The explanation of Figure 1 in the article seems to be incomplete. The actual rescue time is very short, no more than 1 hour, so the author's study of 4 hours does not seem very critical?
3. Why is the time span from 4 hours to 48 hours?
4. The author's research is meaningful, but I suggest that the author modify the supplementary analysis of the language to make the article more readable.
Minor editing of English language required
Author Response
- The author's references are too concentrated. I have read references 1-13 and found that some references are not relevant to this paper. The author should revise the document to make it correspond to the content.
Response: Restructured the introduction so the references are not concentrated. Some of the references have been removed so now all the relevant references emphasize the need of the current study
- The explanation of Figure 1 in the article seems to be incomplete. The actual rescue time is very short, no more than 1 hour, so the author's study of 4 hours does not seem very critical?
Response: The explanation has been rewritten. We agree that the actual rescue time is very short. However, we extended the hours of the study because some of the studies showed that the contaminated gear could be off-gassing certain compounds for up to 48 hours. In such a case, the contaminated PPE stored in the storage room of the fire station could pose a risk to the firefighters, where these contaminants could still off gas and could be an inhalation hazard.
- Why is the time span from 4 hours to 48 hours?
Response: We have used extended the hours of the study because some of the studies showed that the contaminated gear could be off-gassing certain compounds for up to 48 hours. In such a case, the contaminated PPE stored in the storage room of the fire station could pose a risk to the firefighters, where these contaminants could still off gas and could be an inhalation hazard.
- The author's research is meaningful, but I suggest that the author modify the supplementary analysis of the language to make the article more readable.
Response: We have modified some of the paragraphs that might improve the clarity of the analysis. If there is any other specific paragraph that needs to be addressed let us know.
Reviewer 4 Report
The article is interesting and worth to be proceed. It deals with an important issue related to the protective clothing of firefighters. It is worth adding a paragraph in the Introduction part about sensors in clothing such as e.g. the ammonia sensor (10.1109/ICSENS.2016.7808457. ) or others and the need for further development of such an issue.
Figures 2 and 4 in the article should be discussed in more detail in the text. The presentation of the results in the table is insufficient. Will the results be presented with accuracy to the last significant place? What units are there? What do the abbreviations used mean? SD from the graph is hard to be read.
Do the presented results refer to a single outfit?
There are only 2 articles in the literature from the last two years. For this reason, literature studies are not complete. The lack of current literature indicates a niche topic or a cursory reading of the literature on the subject.
Author Response
- Figures 2 and 4 in the article should be discussed in more detail in the text. The presentation of the results in the table is insufficient. Will the results be presented with accuracy to the last significant place? What units are there? What do the abbreviations used mean? SD from the graph is hard to be read.
Response: The explanation for the figures is rewritten in much more depth. The software for the chromatogram was providing the peak area to the nearest integer hence there are no decimal places added. The units of the compounds that off-gassed are mentioned as “absolute peak areas” obtained from the software. The numbers provide a relative qualitative comparison between different compounds. The abbreviations for certain compounds are clarified in the manuscript earlier on (between Lines 200-250)
- Do the presented results refer to a single outfit?
Response: Yes, the results are for single outfits in each category: used and unused. The study was conducted in such a manner since there were limited resources available.
- There are only 2 articles in the literature from the last two years. For this reason, literature studies are not complete. The lack of current literature indicates a niche topic or a cursory reading of the literature on the subject.
Response: Thank you for the comment. We have added a couple of references but the research topic itself is relatively new and currently limited research is available
Reviewer 5 Report
In the manuscript entitled “Qualitative assessment of off-gassing of compounds fromfield-contaminated firefighter jackets with varied air exposure time intervals using headspace GC-MS”, A. Girase et al.
First of all, the abstract is too long; please, reduce it, starting from “The manuscript presents…” (page 1 line 15).
Please, add more references in the introduction.
Please, correct the chemical formula in the manuscript.
The authors should describe better the produced live training burn: in which manner it was ignited, etc.; which were the external conditions (e.g. temperature, humidity, etc.); moreover, more chemical details/information on the used jackets should be added.
In the experimental section, the authors should add information about the performed analytic procedure, which standards were used? Which references? Please, add and discuss.
The authors should motivate the use of specific experimental condition to perform GC analyses.
The English style should be improved.
I can accept with major revisions.
The English style should be improved.
Author Response
- First of all, the abstract is too long; please, reduce it, starting from “The manuscript presents…” (page 1 line 15).
Response: Deleted the statements and changed some parts of the abstract. The other statements were added as a result of suggestions from another reviewer about adding more to the abstract.
- Please, add more references in the introduction.
Response: We have added new references but the topic itself is very new hence limited research is available.
- Please, correct the chemical formula in the manuscript.
Response: The names of the chemicals were checked again and rewritten Let us know if we need to change any specific ones.
- The authors should describe better the produced live training burn: in which manner it was ignited, etc.; which were the external conditions (e.g. temperature, humidity, etc.); moreover, more chemical details/information on the used jackets should be added.
Response: Whatever details were allowed to be recorded for the procedure we have documented that. The used jackets' occupational history was unknown.
- In the experimental section, the authors should add information about the performed analytic procedure, which standards were used? Which references? Please, add and discuss.
Response: We have referenced one of the co-author’s previous studies for all the detailed explanation of the materials and methods that were used.
- The authors should motivate the use of specific experimental condition to perform GC analyses.
Response: We have added a couple of sentences to justify the use of the GC analyses and to encourage the use of this particular method.
- The English style should be improved.
Response: Revised it thoroughly
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
The authors improved the manuscript according to the requirements
Reviewer 2 Report
OK.
Reviewer 3 Report
Agree to accept.
The quality of English is very good.
Reviewer 4 Report
After improvement the paper is ready to be published
Reviewer 5 Report
In my opinion, the reviesed version of the manuscript can be accepted for publication.
The English style is quite acceptable.
