Redmond EMS Abstracts.indd - IAFF

Occupational Diseases
Travis Kubale, PhD
Epidemiologist
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
4676 Columbia Parkway
Cincinnati, Ohio 45226
513-841-4461
tkubale@cdc.gov
Background:
Travis Kubale is a research epidemiologist with the CDC - NIOSH. He received his Bachelor’s
degree from Colorado State University, Master’s degree from the University of Kentucky and his
Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of Cincinnati. He is the lead project officer for the
NIOSH/United States Fire Administration study of Cancer among United States fire fighters.
Dr. Kubale has conducted multiple analytic epidemiological research studies of Department of
Energy and civilian naval personnel.
Abstract:
The toxic environments in which fire service members live and work have long been suspected
to have an adverse effect on firefighter health. Virtually every hazard class can be found in the
firefighting environment including physical hazards, such as ionizing radiation, biologic agents,
musculo-skeletal hazards and the psycho-social stress of responding to life-threatening emergencies
(Agnew et al, 1991). As well, the toxic products of combustion (Brandt-Rauf et al., 1988; McDiarmid,
et al.,1991; Lees, 1995), both chemical and particulate, have been raised as threats to health,
especially when considering the work-relatedness of cancer and chronic conditions such as heart
disease. This presentation will review the work exposures commonly found in the fire service and
the epidemiologic evidence of occupational disease excess in its members. Strategies for disease
prevention, including the benefits derived from participation in the Wellness-Fitness Initiative
(WFI) will be presented with a focus on cancer and heart disease prevention.
Known or presumed human cancer-causing agents found in the fire-fighting environment include
benzene, formaldehyde, acrolein,perchloroethylene, cadmium, and some of the polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAH) such as benzo(a)pyrene and chrysene (summarized in McDiarmid et al.,
1991). Asbestos exposure during overhaul operations has long been raised as a risk (Heyer et
al., 1990; Markowitz et al., 1992) and the exposure to diesel exhaust at the fire house has also
been flagged as potentially hazardous (Froines et al., 1987).
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