Perigos escondidos para bombeiros. Estudo aponta relação entre nanopartículas e efeitos carddiovasculares
UK: For firefighters the hidden dangers can be worse
Firefighters' union FBU is facing more than safety hazards; it is battling to highlight the risk of heart attacks, cancer and stress caused by heat and contaminants from fires and close proximity to tragedies. FBU officer Les Skarratts says heat exposure can cause the blood to thicken and increase the risk of heart attacks and other conditions, chemical exposures can lead to an increased risk of cancer and horrific tragedies can cause post traumatic stress disorder. Writing in the Guardian, he noted at every turn the union faces barriers. "The FBU has campaigned for some time to raise awareness of the physiological stress of heat on firefighters and this is an important piece of the jigsaw in explaining why so many firefighters have – and die from – heart attacks," he notes. "The incidence of cancer in firefighters is far higher than in the wider community, with unusual cancers being noticeably more common. Evidence is emerging that suggests the source of these cancers is contaminants from fires being absorbed into the body. These contaminants also settle into our fire tunics and gloves, flash hoods and leggings. We put these fire kits into the fire engines and ride with them to the station or the next incident. We absorb the contaminants while at rest and at work." But he says "sadly, many of the firefighters who die of cancer do so after retirement, so it is hard to gather data… In many other parts of the world, including Canada, there are laws that presume some specific diseases or conditions are work-related. The FBU is pressing for similar presumptive legislation in the UK." After consistent campaigning by Australia's fire fighting union, most Australian jurisdications now have such 'presumptive' legislation - just Victoria and NSW have not yet introduced it. The Victorian Andrews Labor government introduced a Bill last year, which passed the Lower House, but was defeated in the Upper House on March 30, this year.
Skarratts says the stresses of the job are a major concern, as "massive and cruel cuts in the fire and rescue service have resulted in the loss of 11,000 firefighters' jobs, from 60,000 in 2010, and a fall in the number of trained and skilled mental health workers. In the London Fire Brigade, the number of trained counsellors was cut from 14 to two. Following the Grenfell fire, four more counsellors have been employed on a permanent basis, but cuts are a national disgrace and should be rectified by immediate reinvestment in the country's fire and rescue services."
Source: Risks 847. Read more: The Guardian. FBU blog. UCLAN news release. Anna A Stec and others. Occupational exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and elevated cancer incidence in firefighters, Nature's Scientific Reports, 8, Article number: 2476, 2018.
Nanotubes linked to cardiovascular disease
European researchers have found an association between an increasingly used engineered nanomaterial and cardiovascular disease, and say their study provides important insight into the potential detrimental cardiovascular effects of exposure to multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), and should influence policy makers.
MWCNT market is growing: the material has useful thermal, electrical and mechanical properties, is light and strong and has great potential to replace conventional materials. Holding it back in the past was that it was expensive, but with its decreasing market price, it is becoming a good alternative to particulate fillers like carbon black (used in tyres and as a colour pigment), and production is moving from a research and development stage to larger-scale production, signalling an increase of workers potentially exposed to the material, they say.
Previous studies have reported a link between MWCNT exposure in humans and oxidative stress, lung inflammation and gene expression change, but studies looking at cardiovascular effects have shown inconsistent results, noted the researchers from the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research and other bodies.
They hypothesised that exposure to MWCNTs induces cardiovascular effects such as those caused by traffic-related particulate matter and, more specifically, ultrafine particles. They looked at 22 workers that handled MWCNTs at an MWCNT-production company, and found that blood concentrations of endothelial damage marker intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) increased with increased exposure to MWCNTs. "An upward trend of ICAM-1 has been observed in humans in relation to the development of atherosclerotic lesions, which is the underlying pathology of cardiovascular diseases including coronary heart disease," the researchers say.
Read more: Eelco Kuijpers, et al, Cardiovascular effects among workers exposed to multiwalled carbon nanotubes. [Abstract], Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Volume 75, Issue 5, May 2018. Source: OHSAlert
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