Bombeiros e câncer

Firefighters appear to have higher-than-average rates of cancer, the largest study of its kind shows.

The analysis, of 32 previous studies, shows that firefighters are at greater risk of prostate and testicular cancers, as well as the immune system cancers non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and multiple myeloma. O risco de câncer de próstata é 28% mais alto entre bombeiros.

Eight additional cancers show possible links to the job, according to findings published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Firefighters are exposed to many potentially cancer-causing chemicals released from burning materials.

Though they wear breathing apparatus and other protective equipment while fighting fires, researchers point out, they typically remove the gear when they're merely in the vicinity of the fire.

At the scene of the fire, toxic substances such as benzene, lead, uranium and asbestos can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin. And at the fire station, idling trucks expose firefighters to diesel exhaust.

The cancer risks seen in this latest study suggest that firefighters need better on-the-job protection, according to the study authors.

"Firefighters work in an inherently dangerous occupation on a daily basis," says lead author Dr Grace LeMasters of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

She and her colleagues based their findings on an analysis of 32 international studies that included more than 110,000 firefighters in all.

Across the studies, firefighters had double the risk of testicular cancer as men in other occupations, a 50% higher risk of both multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and a 28% higher risk of prostate cancer.

These findings "raise red flags", LeMasters and her colleagues write, and point to a need for "innovative comfortable protective equipment allowing firefighters to do their job without compromising their health".

Another, more immediate measure would be for firefighters to shower as soon as they return to the fire station, the researchers say.

Other investigators, they note, have found that firefighters often say their skin ends up covered in soot after battling a blaze.