While bodily harm, injury and even death due to extreme heat, lack of breathable oxygen, falling debris and collapsing buildings are all risks which firefighters are well aware of, it turns out that there may be less obvious and equally dangerous risks associated with their heroic work.
Firefighters face countless toxins due to the smoky, superheated conditions in which they work. It’s already been discovered that many firefighters are subjected to airborne asbestos, formaldehyde, and more on the job, but research regarding the long term affects of such poisons has never been conducted.
A new study which the NIOSH, or National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, is embarking on hopes to change all of that. Working with the United States Fire Administration, the ambitious new undertaking will collect data from nearly 18,000 current and retired firefighters to learn more about their long term health conditions.
One of the facets of the new research will aim to better understand the risks to firefighters posed by airborne asbestos fibers.
It’s long been established that asbestos fibers cause an array of devastating illnesses and conditions. Respiratory complications, asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma are a few of the dangerous and even terminal illnesses caused by the dangerous mineral.
Unfortunately, asbestos saw plenty of use as fire retardant insulation throughout the twentieth century, meaning that its presence is a fairly commonplace occurrence for most firefighters. The tiny asbestos fibers cannot be burned up, so instead become whisked away in the incredible heat of the fire, lacing the already dangerous smoke and broiling hot air with an unseen, and often unmitigated, danger.
Mesothelioma, one of the most dangerous diseases caused by accidental inhalation of asbestos fibers, can take decades to develop after contamination occurs. The disease develops as the tissues around the lungs and other organs begin to scar as a reaction to the presence of microscopic asbestos fibers. This scarring, in time, could develop into malignant tumors that spread to the body’s vital organs causing swelling, pain, and eventually death. The presence of asbestos fibers in burning buildings could mean that firefighters face serious, daunting risks to their health far beyond the dangers of putting out fires, dangers that could haunt them beyond their retirement.
The NIOSH working together with the USFA hope to learn more about the unseen dangers of firefighting to help protect local heroes after their day’s work is done.
