On Nov. 8, 2022, the Minister of Labour announced that cancer of the pancreas and thyroid are now added to the list of 16 other cancers that firefighters can claim as occupational diseases under the Workers Compensation Act.
While this is welcome news, it is also a strong signal of how indifferent we are as a society regarding the use of building materials that, when burned, produce toxic fumes that can kill.
All smoke and fumes can be harmful, but some are more harmful than others.
Burning polyvinyl chloride or PVC plastic, for example – very widely used in house siding and pipes – generates clouds of dioxins and furans, as well as significant amounts of benzene, all of which cause cancer.
PVC is popular because it is cheap, weathers well and retains colour nicely. But are all these cosmetic properties worth the lives of our volunteer firefighters?
PVC, in addition, is impossible to recycle, and in small amounts can contaminate other recyclable materials and make them un-recyclable.
Burning many other plastics also produce toxic by-products, especially benzene.
It is past time that we took the health of firefighters more seriously, and instead of creating a growing list of diseases for which compensation is available, began a process of abandoning building materials and household products that can intensify health and environmental harm. We owe it to those among us who work to protect us against losses and harms associated with burning buildings and other man-made structures.
As the adage says, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure – but it can also save a ton of heartache.
Warren Bell
Read more: Shuswap fire chiefs applaud expanded cancer coverage for firefighters
Read more: B.C. adds 3 cancers to coverage for firefighters – ovarian, cervical, penile
newsroom@saobserver.net
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