Firefighters

Firefighters are exposed to dangers and risks every day of their working lives, but one risk that few people consider is their heightened risk of exposure to asbestos. Asbestos, a naturally occurring mineral that was used in construction for decades during the 1900s, is a known carcinogen that increases the risk of many types of cancer. It also causes serious respiratory diseases and disorders, including asbestosis, pleural plaques and pleural fibrosis.

Unlike so many other dangers faced by firefighters, the threat of asbestos is subtle and insidious. There is seldom any huge warning sign to tell a firefighter that he or she has been exposed to a deadly hazard. Asbestos is a hidden danger - and all too often, firefighters are exposed to asbestos in situations where they have every reason to believe that they are completely safe.

Asbestos was heavily used in construction products for most of the last century. From about 1920 through the 1970s, nearly every building that went up used construction materials that contained asbestos. The fibrous mineral was mixed into paint, combined with cellulose to make fiberboard and wallboard, mixed with cement to make siding shingles and formed into felt for use as roof felting and backings on vinyl flooring. Asbestos was even used in joint compound, which was used in dozens of different kinds of applications.

While asbestos has been banned for most uses since the 1980s, those buildings still contain asbestos. This puts firefighters into a high risk category for being exposed to asbestos on the job - one of many occupations that are still at risk for asbestos exposure today, decades after the dangers of asbestos became known.

Asbestos becomes a danger when it breaks off into tiny fibers that are inhaled or swallowed. This happens when the materials that were made with asbestos are broken, deteriorated or sanded. Every time that a firefighter has to face a fire in a home or building that contains asbestos, there is a high probability that asbestos fibers will be released into the air. It happens when a firefighter punches a hole through a wall, ceiling or floor. If there is a collapse, there is a very high probability that broken walls, blistered paint, plaster and cement will crumble to dust that contains asbestos.

In recent years, there have been a number of highly publicized fires that highlighted the dangers of asbestos to firefighters. In December of 2007, fire destroyed several buildings in a block of New Haven, Connecticut. Firefighters from New Haven and surrounding towns battled the blaze for hours during the night. While firefighters typically wear respirators if they have to enter a burning building, it's not unusual for those working to contain the fire from outside to work without masks. In the morning, air quality samples taken at the fire site showed extremely high levels of asbestos around the still smoldering rubble. The firefighters who fought that fire spent hours breathing moist, superheated air that may have been laden with asbestos fibers.

The New Haven fire was not an isolated incident. There have been similar high levels of asbestos reported after fires in schools, homes and public buildings all over the country. There have also been reports of firefighters who were exposed to asbestos on training exercises. In many communities, firefighters undergo scheduled training in buildings that have been condemned and are scheduled for demolition. In those buildings, usually older buildings constructed during the height of the asbestos era, they practice chopping through walls, punching holes in floors and other fire control techniques that may destroy asbestos containing materials and release asbestos fibers into the air.

The one place where firefighters should feel safe is the firehouse, but even there they risk exposure to asbestos. Like most public buildings, firehouses built before the 1980s were built using materials that contained asbestos. This was especially true in public buildings because asbestos was well-known as the best fire-proofing material in existence. That makes the situation all the more ironic. In older fire stations, deteriorating walls, ceilings and floors contribute to unusually high levels of asbestos in the air.

Asbestos exposure 'at work' takes on a new meaning for firefighters. While workers in most occupations are exposed to their workplace for 8 hours at a stretch, firefighters often spend days at a time in the firehouse. This increases the amount of time that they spend exposed to any heightened levels of asbestos. In many communities, asbestos abatement and removal is addressed on a 'as needed' basis because of the expense.

To add insult to injury, even the protective clothing worn by firefighters can present a risk of inhaling asbestos fibers. Asbestos is still the best insulator and protection from heat that exists. Coats, gloves and other items of clothing are woven with asbestos fiber because they offer the very best protection from fire that's available. However, when the clothing becomes worn, it can shed tiny fibers that may be inhaled by the person wearing the clothing.

There are ways that firefighters can reduce their risk of being exposed to asbestos, but they require the cooperation of local officials and funding. They include the provision and use of respirator masks with approved HEPA filters at all times when fighting fires and doing training exercises, regular inspections of firehouses and a commitment to remove all asbestos from any structures to be used for training purposes.

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