Firefighters at Increased Risk for Four Cancers
Firefighters are more likely to develop four different types of cancer than workers in other fields, according to new research from the University of Cincinnati that shows a direct correlation between the chemical exposures firefighters experience on the job and their increased risk for cancer
Firefighters are twice as likely to develop testicular cancer and have significantly higher rates of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and prostate cancer than non-firefighters. The researchers also confirmed previous findings that firefighters are at greater risk for multiple myeloma.
The research is reported in the November edition of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The UC-led study is the largest comprehensive study to date investigating cancer risk associated with working as a firefighter. Researchers from Puerto Rico and Egypt participated in the study.
Firefighters are exposed to many compounds designated as carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, including benzene, diesel engine exhaust, chloroform, soot, styrene, and formaldehyde. These substances can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin and occur both at the scene of a fire and in the firehouse, where idling diesel fire trucks produce diesel exhaust.
The UC-led team analyzed information on 110,000 firefighters, most of them full-time, white male workers, from 32 previously published scientific studies to determine the comprehensive health effects and correlating cancer risks of their profession.
UC epidemiologists found that half the studied cancers, including testicular, prostate, skin, brain, rectum, stomach, and colon cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and malignant melanoma were associated with firefighting.
The findings suggest that the protective equipment firefighters have used in the past did not do a good job in protecting them against cancer-causing agents they encounter in their profession, the researchers say.
The UC study highlights a critical and immediate need for additional protective equipment to help firefighters avoid inhalation and skin exposures to known and suspected occupational carcinogens. In addition, it suggests that firefighters should meticulously wash their entire bodies to remove soot and other residues from fires to avoid skin exposure.
The research was supported in part by a grant from the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation.