Brown urges OK of firefighter cancer registry

WASHINGTON — Sen. Sherrod Brown called on the House to quickly approve a bill passed last week by the Senate that would create a voluntary database of firefighters across the country who contract cancer.

The bill, which has broad bipartisan support and swept through the Senate without even a floor vote, would require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop the registry and make certain it is up to date.

The House passed a similar bill last year but because the Senate made some minor alterations, the House will have to approve the amended measure.

“We should use all of the tools at our disposal when it comes to cancer prevention and treatment of first responders who sacrifice their own safety to protect others,” Brown, D-Ohio, said in a statement. “I urge my colleagues in the House to pass this legislation, so that we can get this bill to the president’s desk.”

Brown co-sponsored the bill along with Republican Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. The House version’s co-sponsors included Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Upper Arlington, and Rep. Jim Renacci, R-Wadsworth. Renacci is running against Brown in this year’s Senate race.

The idea behind the bill is that by collecting data on firefighters, health officials would determine how to reduce or prevent cancer rates among firefighters.

The Dispatch last year published a series detailing the high risk of work-related cancer among firefighters.

According to statewide surveys conducted by The Dispatch for the series, one in six of the 1,300 firefighters who responded said they had been diagnosed with cancer at some point in their careers.