FIREFIGHTERS in Scotland are nearly twice as likely to die from cancer compared general population, according to a major new study. 

Mortality rates from prostate and oesophageal cancers, and myeloid leukaemia, were particularly high. 

Researchers say action on early screening and workplace compensation is "urgently required" after they found that firefighters were also developing and dying from cancers at a younger age, when they may not be eligible for routine checks. 

They called for an "immediate review" of the failure by the UK's Industrial Injuries Advisory Council to recognise cancer - except mesothelioma - as an occupational risk for firefighters. 

Firefighters in some parts of Canada, Australia and the US are already legally entitled to medical support and/or compensation, but until now UK authorities have insisted that there is "insufficient evidence" to prove that exposure to chemicals in fire effluent is associated with an elevated risk of cancer. 

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The study, led by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), used Scottish death records from 2000 to 2020 to demonstrate for the first time significant excess mortality from cancer and other diseases among UK-based firefighters. 

During the time period, 285 current or retired Scottish male firefighters aged 30 to 74 had died from cancer. 

Overall, that translated into a cancer mortality rate among firefighters which was 1.6 times higher than the general male population over the same period.

Statistically significant increases were found for myeloid leukaemia - where the mortality rate was 3.2 times higher - as well as prostate cancer (3.8 times higher) and cancer of the oesophagus (2.4 times higher). 

Mortality ratios for urinary system cancers - such kidney and bladder cancers - were also nearly twice as high, at 1.94 times. 

Riccardo la Torre, national officer for the Fire Brigades Union, said the findings "should horrify fire services and the government".

He said: "This is about firefighters dying who did not need to. We know that there are clear ways we can make things better for firefighters.

"We need health surveillance. We need monitoring of exposures. We need legislation that will ensure that affected firefighters are given the compensation they deserve.

"At the moment we are sorely lacking in all of these areas.”

Scottish male firefighters were also much more like to die from other ailments, such as heart disease and strokes, compared to other men. 

Death records for female firefighters were excluded from the analysis because the number - 11 - was too small a sample size to generate sound comparisons with the general female population. 

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The study notes that early diagnostics and improvement in treatment have led to a downward trend in cancer mortality overall, after adjusting for an ageing population. 

However it adds that "this downward trend is not observed in firefighters who rather display a concerning upward trend in number of cancer deaths over time".

It continues: "There may be several plausible explanations for this observation...[for example] Scottish firefighters appear to have higher cancer death rates at younger age brackets when compared to the general population.

"These firefighters may be too young to be offered national NHS cancer screening programmes, which are typically targeted at older demographics - preventing early diagnosis and treatment.

"Additionally, firefighters may be more susceptible to specific cancers which are less common in the general population and are thus not targeted by national screening programmes - again delaying diagnosis and treatment.

"Finally, the increasing domination of synthetic materials (which produce a more toxic fire effluent) in modern times may in part contribute to the apparent increase in firefighter cancer deaths over time."

The researchers say that while decontamination procedures are improving, the findings "indicate an urgent need to better support firefighters’ health" - including revisions to screening policy.

They write: "Early detection is acknowledged as one of the best indicators of cancer survival.

"Given the younger ages at which firefighters appear to be developing and dying of cancer, a dedicated health screening programme is urgently required."

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They go on to call for "remedial measures" to ensure that firefighters who develop cancer as a result of their service "have access to necessary financial and medical support".

"Such measures are established in countries such as Canada, the USA and Australia, but not in the UK or Europe," they note.

Anna Stec, lead author for the study and a professor in fire chemistry and toxicity at UCLan, said: “This is the first study of its kind in UK and the research brings to light the wide range of occupational hazards that firefighters face.

"It’s important that firefighters can continue to do their jobs as safely as possible, and the research shows that measures such as health monitoring and reducing exposure from contaminants at the workplace will play an important part in protecting firefighters.”

The study is published to in the Journal of Occupational Medicine.