International Agency for Research on Cancer Designates Firefighters as Group 1 Carcinogens
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has upgraded firefighters to Group 1 carcinogens for the first time in 13 years.
On the 6th, the National Fire Agency announced that the research and development project (R&D) aimed at improving the safety and health of firefighters has produced international results.
In 2010, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified firefighters as Group 2B carcinogens, but after 13 years, they have been upgraded to Group 1 carcinogens, with the domestic firefighter cohort study playing a significant role. A cohort study is a research method that tracks groups exposed and not exposed to specific factors, comparing the incidence rates of the target disease to investigate the relationship between the factor and disease occurrence.
In particular, 26 high-quality international studies were presented as evidence, and among them, the Korean firefighter cohort was the only one from Asia included.
This study was conducted as part of the National Fire Agency’s R&D project (research team led by An Yeon-sun at Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine) from 2009 to 2011, and was published in international journals in 2012 and 2015 under the theme “Cancer Incidence and Mortality Risk among Korean Firefighters,” making it the only firefighter cohort study in Asia.
Meanwhile, to be included as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, mechanistic evidence must support the epidemiological evidence, and about 10 papers from ongoing National Fire Agency R&D projects were cited in this mechanistic research.
Nam Hwa-young, Commissioner of the National Fire Agency, stated, “We will continue to conduct internationally recognized research related to the safety and health of firefighters and do our best to ensure public safety through the promotion of firefighter safety and health.”
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