Firefighters are occupationally exposed to chemicals that may affect health and fertility. This study investigated exposure, reproduction and the estimate daily intake for a breast fed infants through recruiting firefighters to contribute blood, urine, breast milk or semen. 97 firefighters contributed urine, blood, semen and breast milk samples and a total of 774 firefighter completed surveys related to occupational exposure, occupational hygiene, and reproduction. The study further considered alternate routes for chronic exposure separate for fire station and incident exposure such as the contamination of undergarments and cross contamination of clothing items through home laundering. Findings demonstrated that firefighter self-reported rates of miscarriage were higher than the general population (22% vs. 12-15%) and in line with prior studies. Estimated daily intake for infants was above reference values for multiple chemicals in breast milk. Greater than 30% of males presented semen quality below World Health Organisation standards for fertility. Undergarments and socks were found to experience varying levels of exposure due to fire smoke, with interload contamination occurring during home laundering. This research provides important exploratory information around how firefighting can affect reproduction, and how undergarments can become contaminated.
