Battling flames increases firefighters' exposure to carcinogens

(American Chemical Society) The threat of getting burned by roaring flames is an obvious danger of firefighting, but other health risks are more subtle. For example, firefighters have been found to develop cancer at higher rates than the general population. Now researchers have measured how much firefighters' exposure to carcinogens and other harmful compounds increases when fighting fires. Their study, appearing in ACS' Environmental Science& Technology, also points to one possible way to reduce that exposure.
Source: EurekAlert! - Cancer - Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: news