National Events Raise Awareness of Firefighters Exposure to Toxins

April 9, 2014- From Spokane, Wash., to Augusta, Maine, firefighters are calling for stricter regulations on flame retardants and other toxic chemicals they say cause cancer and other diseases among them. A recent display of more than 200 empty pairs of firefighter boots in San Francisco's City Hall was one of 15 “Give Toxics the Boot” events held around the country in March.

“We take every precaution we can to minimize our exposure and risk, yet we're still being exposed to these chemicals on a daily basis," said Emmett McNamee, a 20-year veteran Spokane firefighter. "And these are bio-accumulative."

To fight a fire means confronting toxic, burning chemicals and their byproducts, including dioxins, furans and formaldehyde. Many toxic fumes released by today's fires come from chemicals added to things like clothes, couches and computers to retard flames. But those additives may offer no meaningful fire protection.

Susan Shaw, director of the Marine Environmental Research Institute, and her colleagues recently tested the blood of 12 California firefighters right after they responded to an alarm. The results, published in June, showed significantly greater concentrations of flame retardants and other household chemicals in the firefighters compared with average Americans.

A separate study, published in October by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, evaluated the health of nearly 30,000 career firefighters in San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia. Researchers found higher rates of prostate cancer, kidney cancer, multiple myeloma, and other cancers compared with the general population. 

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