Dangerous Exposures and Firefighting
OHCOW has long supported firefighter cases and cancer recognition efforts, so we are pleased to announce that January is Firefighter Cancer Awareness Month. 2024 is the first year this designation has been recognized in Canada. Its purpose is to highlight the dangers posed to firefighters by toxic substances in the course of their jobs, and to provide the tools and protocols for illness prevention. Legislative support is also needed to recognize and respond to these occupational illnesses when they happen.
OHCOW's history of working with firefighters goes back to the Hamilton Plastimet fire in 1997. The City of Hamilton agreed to fund a 25 year program to monitor the health and exposures of the firefighters who responded to the blaze. McMaster University’s Program in Occupational Health and Environmental Medicine, (now Occupational Health Care-A-Van Inc.), in partnership with OHCOW, were awarded a contract to provide services for the Occupational Health & Exposure Program (OHEP) program. OHCOW was responsible for supplying a physician, plus the group analysis of the data collected. This included lab tests, a pre-test questionnaire of possible associated factors, occupational exposure and medical history, lung function and chest X-rays, and medical interview and exam.
In June 2022 the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified firefighting as a known human carcinogen, and according to their research, between 2005 and 2016, 86% of occupational fatality claims for Canadian firefighters were linked to cancer. Furthermore, firefighters have a 9% higher risk of cancer diagnosis, and a 14% higher risk of dying from cancer than the general public.
Legislation
The Government of Canada passed legislation addressing this issue, both in 2021 and more recently when Bill C-224 was unanimously passed in June of 2023. This bill boosts an action plan to protect all Canadians exposed to toxic flame retardants and other substances, including firefighters who face heightened risks of exposure as they battle fires.
OHCOW reported on the policy changes to the Ontario Regulation 253/07 under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 to add two new cancers that would be covered: primary-site pancreatic cancer and primary-site thyroid cancer. This additional coverage took effect on June 29, 2023, and OPM document 23-02-01, Cancers in Firefighters and Fire Investigators, was amended to reflect the changes. For more information about provincial coverage, please read the WSIB's FAQs about firefighter presumptive care.
A "National Framework on Cancers Linked to Firefighting" is also being led by the federal government, in consultation with firefighters, other levels of government, health care professionals and researchers. A comprehensive action plan to protect firefighters from harmful chemicals released during household fires has also been published. Provincially, Ontario has a useful Firefighter's Cancer Prevention Checklist (link on right).
Ottawa Firefighters in the Spotlight
In November 2021, an OHCOW webinar, part of the OCC-TOBER Webinar Series, was presented by Paul A. White, who discusses the IARC classification of ‘occupational exposure as a firefighter’ as possibly carcinogenic (IARC, 2010).
The webinar focusses on research involving Ottawa firefighters, which collected study samples of 29 paired (pre-and post-fire) dermal (skin)wipe and urine samples collected at 19 fires. They were matched with active air samples of Ottawa fire service office workers, and CHMS (Canadian Health Measures Survey) males of same age-range, as controls.
A focus of this presentation is dermal (skin) contact with substances, the use of special wipes to treat contact areas and the efficacy of dermal decontamination. The presenter refers to the research paper: Elevated Exposures to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Other Organic Mutagens in Ottawa Firefighters Participating in Emergency, On-Shift Fire Suppression
More Resources
The Canadian Association of Chiefs web site has more information and links about Firefighting and Cancer.
The International Association of Firefighters also commemorates the month of January and provides information and resources.
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