In 2018, the United States Congress passed the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act. That allowed the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to develop a registry to study cancer among firefighters with the goal to understand and reduce the risk of cancer among U.S. firefighters.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), studies have shown that firefighters on the fire ground are exposed to smoke and hazardous chemicals released from burning materials. These chemicals could increase the risk of some types of cancer.

Two laws have been signed with the aim of advancing firefighter health and protecting them from chemical exposures while doing their job. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), encourage all firefighters to register, whether they have cancer or not.

According to the NIOSH, it's completely voluntary for the following:

  • active and retired firefighters 
  • career, paid-on-call, and volunteer firefighters 
  • structural firefighters 
  • wildland firefighters 
  • instructors 
  • fire investigators 
  • other members of the fire service  

The CDC notes that all personal information will be kept confidential. It takes about 30 minutes to enroll, which is done online here. The registry will help scientists learn more about the link between cancer and firefighting with the hope to improve health and match it up with information from U.S. state cancer registries.

To find out more about the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) click here. 

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