Firefighters have a 9% higher risk of a cancer diagnosis and a 14% higher risk of dying from cancer compared with the general population.

Key takeaways

In cooperation with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, a multidisciplinary team at UCLA will isolate the contaminants on firefighter jackets and assess their effects on human cells.

Firefighters at one station will wear the jackets in rotation for two months, then send them back to researchers, unwashed and coated with debris from their firefights.

Once the chemists isolate the gases and PM from the jackets, Gomperts will test their effects on human cells.