A recent study conducted by the CDC examined antimony-containing fabric and its association with elevated levels of urinary antimony, according to a report in the Nov. 27 edition of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Repot.
Following its research, the agency concluded that wearing pants made from antimony-containing fabric was not associated with elevated levels of urinary antimony.
According to the CDC, an estimated 1.1 million U.S. firefighters wear clothing containing antimony oxides -- which are used as flame retardants in fabric.
Last October, the agency received a report from the Boca Raton fire department regarding concerning an outbreak of antimony toxicity among 30 firefighters who had elevated antimony levels detected in hair samples.
Read the January 2009 story from The Palm Beach Post.
Boca Raton had been using antimony-containing pants for station uniforms since 1997. In August of 2008, a veteran firefighter had unexplained neurologic symptoms and underwent hair testing by a local physician.
The test revealed an elevated antimony level and subsequently, the local union encouraged all of the department's 199 firefighters to undergo testing for heavy metals.
That fall, a total of 29 of the firefighters independently underwent hair testing for heavy metals conducted by the same local physician at a private laboratory. The hair samples from these 29 firefighters were reported to have elevated antimony levels at an average of 10 times the laboratory's reference range.
The local union suspected that the source of antimony exposure was the uniform pants and on Oct. 6, the fire department suspended its requirement to wear the antimony-containing pants and advised that firefighters wear 100% cotton pants instead.
A total of 44 filed workers' compensation claims related to antimony exposure. Twenty-seven firefighters reported symptoms they attributed to antimony exposure, including fatigue, headache, muscle cramps, and joint pain.
The following winter, print and television media and firefighter Web sites reported the apparent outbreak of antimony toxicity, causing national concern over the safety of the uniform pants.
This past February, the CDC administered questionnaires to and collected urine samples from two groups of firefighters, a group from Boca Raton and another from another department within the state.
The study results showed that firefighters from both departments had urine antimony concentrations below or within the laboratory reference range, leading to the conclusion that wearing pants made from antimony-containing fabric was not associated with elevated levels of urinary antimony.
By last month, a total of 77 firefighters from the department had filed workers' compensation claims. Many of those claims were withdrawn after CDC's final report was released and the remainder was dismissed by the city.
