By Sharyle Patton, Director Commonweal
The aggregate results of the November 2018 Camp Fire study raises major concerns for the health and safety of the men and women fighting these major conflagrations. The results indicate that immediately post fire, firefighters were carrying in their bodies a mixture of chemical toxicants, including flame retardants, stain and water repellent substances, and some heavy metals at levels higher than those found in the general US population. Many of these chemicals are considered to be carcinogenic.
This study is a project of the San Francisco Firefighter Cancer Prevention Foundation and Commonweal, and is funded by the International Association of Firefighters and the San Francisco Firefighter Cancer Prevention Foundation. Read the complete overview by our project partner, Sharyle Patton, Director of Commonweal by clicking the button below.