When we think of the dangers of a firefighter, we often think of their moments of rescue, running into burning buildings and the possible dangers and wounds that may follow. Certainly these situations present major problems for firefighters all the time, but these can be just the tip of the iceberg as far asthe risks that can come along with being a firefighter.
Researchers have found that firefighters are often at a higher risk in developing testicular cancer,lymphoma, prostate cancer, and myeloma than the normal population. This expanded risk of other diseases involves when firefighters remove their protective gear after leaving a damaged or burning building. When they take off their equipment they could still be in the vicinity of many dangerous areas. Even being in the vicinity of burning or damaged structures can lead to inhalation and exposure to
carcinogenic toxins regularly.
Dr. James Lockey of the University of Cincinnati has taken extensive looks in the past few years into the correlated risk of health problems with firefighters. It was taken on nearly 110,000 firefighters and researched the correlation to around 20 different types of cancer. The percentages of risk varied, but in many cases, they were frightening. For example, there was a 100 percent increase of risk for testicular cancer and 50 percent for lymphoma and multiple myeloma.
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