Katharina Buczek
For instance, esophageal and digestive organ cancers suggest that ingestion– which can occur when firefighters swallow mucus with entrapped fire effluent– is a significant risk factor.
Likewise, higher leukemia mortality rates have been linked to other chemical exposures, such as skin contact or inhalation of benzene.
This led the researchers to conclude that urgent actions need to be taken– including the reduction of contaminant exposures at work, health monitoring for all firefighters, and medical support for firefighters who are already affected.
Fire Brigades Union national officer Riccardo la Torre detailed how it has long been known that firefighters encounter contaminants that are very likely to cause cancer and other diseases. Now, though, with indisputable evidence to back it up, la Torre is speaking out against unsafe working conditions.
“No firefighter should suffer unnecessarily, and there is much more that fire services can be doing to reduce exposure to fire contaminants,” he said.
“We demand to see more action on prevention, health monitoring, and facilities and contracts for proper PPE and workwear cleaning. Ministers and Fire Bosses can no longer bury their heads in the sand on this life and death matter. It is of absolute urgency that they act, and this research only reinforces that point.”
This issue has now been raised by Maggie Chapman, MSP in the Scottish Parliament. Chapman and Pauline McNeill, MSP, have also raised the issue at First Minister’s Questions.
To read the study’s complete findings, which have since been published in Oxford Academic, visit the link here.
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