First respondersKeeping First Responders Safe

When two powerful earthquakes rocked southern California earlier this month, officials’ attention focused, understandably, on safety. How many people were injured? Were buildings up to code? How good are we at predicting earthquakes?

Not a lot of people were thinking about urine, blood, and spit.

But those substances are key to a PNNL effort to learn more about the health and safety of first responders – people like the EMTs, police officers, and firefighters who pour forth en masse when disaster strikes.

“We are helping to keep safe those who keep us safe,” said Justin Teeguarden, the principal investigator of the two-year PNNL research investment known as BRAVE – Biomedical Resilience and Readiness in Adverse Operating Environments.

PNNL says that last month the team wrapped up the first phase of one effort – the collection of samples of saliva, blood, and urine from Los Angeles County firefighters. They have volunteered to be part of a study where PNNL experts crunch massive amounts of data as they focus on improving the health and performance of first responders.

The team will analyze extensive measures of molecular activity – proteins, molecular messages known as transcripts, and metabolites – to create new ways to monitor and predict the effects of stressors on the body. For instance, are there molecular signals that indicate which firefighter will suffer from heat stroke or over-exertion as he or she climbs the stairs of a high-rise building? Or when EMTs are extremely fatigued and need a break even when they say they don’t?

“Can we monitor these responders more closely and pull them off the line before they are at risk?” Teeguarden asks.