Iowa State University Leads Statewide Research to Reduce Cancer Risks for Firefighters

Iowa State University is spearheading a statewide program to reduce cancer risks for firefighters through prevention, exposure monitoring, early detection, care navigation, and the development of an Iowa-specific data system to guide future safety standards.

Professor Guowen Song and his research team recently helped launch the Iowa Firefighter Cancer Prevention and Exposure Reduction Program, which includes advanced research into fire emissions and protective gear.

The university has built one of the country's only labs capable of generating controlled, realistic fire emissions, to analyze their chemistry, particle behavior, and toxicity.

Iowa State University said the team can reproduce select controlled oxygen and ventilation levels, allowing them to generate emissions from wood, mixed synthetic materials, and battery-involved fires; measure particle size and chemistry; expose fabric and gear components to defined smoke; test filtration and decontamination methods; and study biological effects using laboratory models.

“We can create different types of emissions, characterize them and use them for PPE testing,” said Rui Li, a research assistant professor in apparel, events and hospitality. “It’s more realistic than anything used in certification today.

Researchers are studying invisible particles and chemicals that linger on protective gear, as well as the dangers posed by the gear itself.

Firefighters’ protective gear often contains forever chemicals called PFAS, which make it resistant to heat and water. Studies have linked these chemicals to several cancers.

The program includes leaders from the University of Iowa’s Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Iowa State Fire Marshal Division, the Iowa Fire Service Training Bureau, the Iowa Cancer Consortium, and fire departments throughout Iowa.