Rep. Richard Hanna (R-Barneveld) is calling on Congress to pass a bill to help address and reduce the links between firefighting and cancer.
At the Mexico Volunteer Fire Department Tuesday, Hanna said it's increasingly difficult to find men and women who are willing to risk their lives by becoming firefighters. The danger, long hours and cost of training involved can be an impediment for many, but he said even worse than that is the threat of cancer.
"These men and women volunteer and full time are exposed to these chemicals and we're beginning to see numbers that not just suggest, but strongly suggest that the incidences of contracting cancer of all different natures-some more than others -is very, very high with firemen," Hanna said.
To better understand the connection, Hanna wants the Centers for Disease Control to create a national firefighter cancer registry that would aggregate health information from cancer cases involving firefighters. He said that could provide public health researchers with the information they need to discover causes and develop preventative measures and practices for fire departments.
"This will help them understand the dangers of that which they are doing and hopefully prevent not lives but also a lot of money in terms of healthcare," Hanna said.
If passed, Hanna estimates the registry will cost $2.5 million to create.