“Our brave firefighters take risks everyday while on the job, including exposing themselves to much higher rates of known and suspected carcinogens,” said Lopez (D-Middlesex). “This registry will help us better understand the causes and outcomes of cancer in the fire services and ultimately, identify ways to mitigate and prevent it from occurring.”
The new law (formerly bill A-4285) would require the Commissioner of Health to develop and maintain a voluntary firefighter cancer registry to collect relevant information that can be used to study how the disease afflicts this population. The following information from each firefighter would be included:
Age and demographic information
Identifying the firefighter as either a career or volunteer worker
Number of years working as a firefighter
Number of fire incidents attended as a firefighter
Past smoking or drug use
Relevant physical examination and medical history
Additional information deemed necessary by the commissioner
“There are firefighters who are diagnosed with cancer years after they’ve left the line of duty,” said Quijano (D-Union). “By collecting this data, we can begin to understand the full extent of work-related health risks, and take the next steps to provide these courageous men and women with the support they need.”
“As a volunteer firefighter, I know firsthand that we owe so much to our first responders who voluntarily put themselves in harm’s way to help others,” said Armato (D-Atlantic). “Now that we’re beginning to see the long-term effects this ever-challenging work can have on the body, we need to know more about carcinogen exposure and how it affects our firefighters.”
Additionally, the new law asks the commissioner to create a strategy for raising awareness of the registry to maximize participation, as well as develop a process to make data available for free while maintaining the confidentiality of registered firefighters.
This law follows suit with efforts across the nation to assess health risks for first responders and set policy to grant them workers compensation. In 2011, President Barack Obama signed the James Zadrogra 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which authorized the government to assist with medical bills incurred by emergency workers who developed health issues following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. And earlier this year, a voluntary federal first responder cancer registry was established.
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Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author of NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters). For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman 1.973.696.7900jon@gelmans.com has been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.
