Respiratory health status of US Army personnel potentially exposed to smoke from 2003 Al-Mishraq Sulfur Plant fire.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of exposure to a 2003 sulfur plant fire on the health of deployed US Army personnel. METHODS: The authors identified a small firefighter group known to be at the fire source and a larger, more dispersed population. Self-reported health status and respiratory health outcomes for these two groups were reviewed compared with two unexposed groups. RESULTS: Self-reported health concerns, difficulty breathing, and shortness of breath were common in the exposed. Rates for chronic respiratory conditions increased in all groups from before to after deployment. Postdeployment medical encounters for chronic respiratory conditions among the exposed did not differ significantly from the unexposed comparison groups. CONCLUSION: Potential exposure to the sulfur fire was positively associated with self-reported health concerns and symptoms but not with clinical encounters for chronic respiratory health conditions.