- Taking a GLP-1 Medication? Here’s Tips to Holiday Eating
- Bird Flu Virus in Canadian Teen Shows Mutations That Could Help It Spread Among Humans
- Flu, COVID Vaccination Rates Remain Low as Winter Nears
- ’10 Americas:’ Health Disparities Mean Life Expectancy Varies Across U.S.
- Short-Term Hormone Therapy for Menopause Won’t Harm Women’s Brains
- Could a Vitamin Be Effective Treatment for COPD?
- Woman Receives World’s First Robotic Double-Lung Transplant
- Flavored Vapes Behind Big Surge in U.S. E-Cigarette Sales
- Reading Beyond Headline Rare For Most on Social Media, Study Finds
- Meds Like Ozempic Are Causing Folks to Waste More Food
Firefighters Exposed to Carcinogens Through the Skin
Firefighters face many known hazards on the job, but one area that hasn’t been well researched is how their skin’s exposure to hazardous chemicals might increase their risk of cancer.
It has long been known that firefighters have higher rates of several types of cancer than people in the general population.
In a new study, researchers at the University of Ottawa examined firefighters’ exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in smoke from fires. PAHs can cause genetic mutations and are known carcinogens. They are one of the hazardous substances released into the air when wood, plastics, furniture, electronics or building materials burn.
The researchers collected urine samples from — and also wiped the skin and clothing of — more than two dozen Canadian firefighters before and after they responded to fires in 2015 and 2016.
On average, the levels of PAH metabolites in urine were about three to five times higher after a fire than before a fire, the findings showed. That increase was associated with an average 4.3 times higher risk of DNA mutations.
“There’s a relationship between firefighters’ urinary PAH metabolite levels and the levels of PAHs on their skin, which leads us to suspect that [skin] contact may be an important route of exposure,” Jennifer Keir, an author on the study, said in a news release from the American Chemical Society.
The researchers suggested that skin decontamination immediately after fighting a fire may help reduce exposure to these potentially cancer-causing compounds.
The study was published Oct. 18 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
More information
The U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has more on firefighters.
Source: HealthDay
Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.