Structural/Vehicle Fires – Cancer
Cancer is a continuing concern among many workers. NIOSH is studying whether fire fighters are at risk as a result of exposure to chemicals and materials while doing their job. Learn more about our fire fighter cancer study. This page also lists our other publications that relate to cancer among fire fighters.
From a recent study: Exposure–response relationships for select cancer and non-cancer health outcomes in a cohort of US firefighters from San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia 1950–2009
ABSTRACT
Objectives: To examine exposure–response relationships between surrogates of firefighting exposure and select outcomes among previously studied US career firefighters.Methods: Eight cancer and four non-cancer outcomes were examined using conditional logistic regression. Incidence density sampling was used to match each case to 200 controls on attained age. Days accrued in firefighting assignments (exposed-days), run totals (fire- runs) and run times (fire-hours) were used as exposure surrogates. HRs comparing 75th and 25th centiles of lagged cumulative exposures were calculated using loglinear, linear, log-quadratic, power and restricted cubic spline general relative risk models. Piecewise constant models were used to examine risk differences by time since exposure, age at exposure and calendar period.
Results: Among 19 309 male firefighters eligible for the study, there were 1333 cancer deaths and 2609 cancer incidence cases. Significant positive associations between fire-hours and lung cancer mortality and incidence were evident. A similar relation between leukaemia mortality and fire-runs was also found. The lung cancer associations were nearly linear in cumulative exposure, while the association with leukaemia mortality was attenuated at higher exposure levels and greater for recent exposures. Significant negative associations were evident for the exposure surrogates and colorectal and prostate cancers, suggesting a healthy worker survivor effect possibly enhanced by medical screening.
Conclusions: Lung cancer and leukaemia mortality risks were modestly increasing with firefighter exposures. These findings add to evidence of a causal association between firefighting and cancer. Nevertheless, small effects merit cautious interpretation. We plan to continue to follow the occurrence of disease and injury in this cohort.
The full report can be found at this link: Exposure–response relationships for select cancer and non-cancer health outcomes in a cohort of US firefighters from San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia 1950–2009
* (2015) [PDF 662 KB, 9 pages]
thanks Dan
#1 by Crabby Milton on February 20, 2015 - 8:37 AM
Yes, there are any number of factors. One fire fighter could develop cancer when they are 35 and another fire fighter could be 95, fall asleep in front of the TV and never wake up and never developed cancer. While the dangers of constant smoke are obvious, this only gives talking points to those that say any kind of job short of never leaving your house will kill you and we have got to do something and start a new federal program.
#2 by Mike on February 20, 2015 - 8:01 AM
This is ok information. The stats are not really broken down. Age, rank, time on, cancer diagnosis. Also there are several factors that have been left out. Family history, health history and of course how many other exposures too. People forget that while fires are bad and toxic we are exposed to diesel exhaust every day at the firehouse, this is a know carcinceagm and all of us are exposed to this more then any other cancer causing agent.