New Study Released on Fire Fighters and Cancer Risk

May 12, 2008 – A new study conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Health under a grant from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) confirms that there are elevated cancer risks among fire fighters and that these risks are consistent with other studies of fire fighters.

In the current study, “Cancer Incidence Among Male Massachusetts Firefighters, 1987–2003” researchers found that professional fire fighters in Massachusetts had higher-than-expected rates of colon cancer, brain cancer, bladder and kidney cancers and Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Data from the Massachusetts cancer registry for the years 1986 through 2003 provided 2,125 cancer diagnoses among professional male firefighters.

This study further supports the position of the IAFF that there is sufficient evidence demonstrating that fire fighters suffer from cancer due to exposures that occur while performing the tasks involved in fire fighting.

The IAFF encourages all members to participated in the IAFF’s occupational health database and cancer registry. The information that members provide by completing the short questionnaire will be used by the IAFF and its scientific partners to identify diseases that fire fighters are most at risk for developing. The results of such efforts will be used to improve the health and safety of fire fighters. Click here for more information.