Schumer wants firefighter’s cancer rate database

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Senator Charles Schumer proposed new legislation that would, for the first time ever: establish a specialized, voluntary national cancer registry to be managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Saying firefighters across Long Island are risking their lives to protect our communities Schumer pointed out, “And now with the ubiquitous presence of complex chemicals in our furniture, clothes and goods, they are too often exposed to a caustic brew of toxins when fighting fires. That is why it so important for Congress to pass this critical legislation to establish a national voluntary firefighter cancer registry, so researchers can better track, treat – and one day prevent – the potential connections between firefighting and cancer.”

“We are all very happy to see Senator Schumer try to be proactive in tracking and identifying firefighter related cancer,” said Oceanside Fire Chief J.T. Madden. “Cancer is the greatest long term risk to firefighters and any measure that can be taken to try and combat it is a step in the right direction. The modern fire environment is full of carcinogens and hopefully this will shed more light on that.”

According to a five-year study conducted by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, there are twice as many firefighters in the U.S. with malignant mesothelioma, a rare type of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, when compared to the general population. The same study also found that firefighters also have an increased risk of death from lung cancer and leukemia as compared to the general population.

Schumer said research has indicated that there is a strong connection between firefighting and an increased risk for several major cancers, including testicular, stomach, multiple myeloma and brain cancers. 

Experts and scientists have repeatedly sounded the alarm on the danger of these toxic chemicals because they have been found to cause developmental delays in children from long-term exposure in addition to rare cancers in firefighters when these products burn and the toxins become airborne.

There has never been a long-term registry put in place that could be used to track the potential connections between firefighting and incidences of cancer.

Specifically this national firefighter cancer registry would:

Compile in one place the epidemiological information submitted by healthcare professionals related to cancer incidence among firefighters.

Make anonymous data available to public health researchers so that they would have access to the comprehensive datasets that will allow them to expand this groundbreaking research.

Improve our understanding of cancer incidence as the registry grows, which could potentially lead to the development of advanced safety protocols and safeguards for the firefighters on the front lines each day.

Allow for increased collaboration between the CDC and epidemiologists, public health experts, clinicians and firefighters through regular and consistent consultations to improve the effectiveness and accuracy of the registry.