Residents of Pacific Palisades who were lucky enough not to lose their homes in the Palisades Fire may be returning to an environment that can trigger harmful diseases.
Both threats from water and air currently exist for those in the area, including the risk of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into municipal water systems. Wildfires that melt or heat plastic and fumes that enter water pipes, a Washington Post report states, can bring “dozens of VOCs” into plumbing, including Benzene.
Long-term health impacts from VOC exposure include cancer. Experts are still trying to understand the ramifications of air quality as it relates to cancer, though UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center professor Dr. Fola May, MD, said residents shouldn’t be too worried.
“All that we know from air pollutants and cancer risk suggests, at this point, that it’s (from) long-term exposures,” Dr. May said. “So although this is an area that probably needs a lot more study, we don’t have any immediate concerns because this was a short event.”
One group that was exposed for longer periods, however, have been the firefighters battling the blazes in Palisades and Altadena. To try and better understand cancer risks to firefighters exposed to hazardous substances, firefighters will be monitored throughout their activities to determine exposure risk.
According to Fox 40, 50 firefighters will participate in the study, a collaboration between Cal Fire, the National Firefighter Cancer Cohort Study, and the University of Arizona. All participants will provide blood and urine samples and wear silicone wristbands that absorb smoke for analysis, with a goal to develop safety protocols for future fires.
The disease also made the news this week with the American Cancer Society (ACS) annual cancer statistics report, a mixed bag of information, though highlighted with a positive.
Latest findings from ACS state that cancer mortality rate in the United States has declined by 34% from 1991 to 2022, an aversion of approximately 4.5 million deaths. Mortality rates have dropped even steeper in children and adolescents, the report says, due in large part to increase treatment for leukemia.
“The biggest contributors to that decline (have) been how we live our lives, so a reduction in the use of tobacco or smoking,” May said. “We know as well that we’ve had some improvement in cancer treatments over time, and also we’ve had some improvement in the ability to detect cancers early stage. We know that when we detect cancer early stage, you have a higher likelihood of survival.”
However, an increasing incidence for many cancer types in women and younger adults have been “shifting the burden of disease,” including a higher incidence for lung cancer in women than in man 65 and under. May stated this is due to increases in not only lung cancer from a slower reduction of smoking, but also an increase in breast and thyroid cancers.
A standout in the report is racial inequalities when it come to cancer diagnosis, such as Native Americans two to three times more likely to die from kidney, liver, stomach and cervical cancers compared to White individuals. Cervical cancer, a preventative disease, also impacts the United States’ Black population more than White counterparts.
May said that “we cannot make a dent in our cancer progress unless we focus on all people,” which means more focus on screening awareness and public health education.
“When you think about the things that are precursors to cancers, like tobacco use, obesity, these are things that aren’t commonly addressed (in) underserved populations, or there’s a stigma about talking about them, and I think that’s a disservice,” May added. “It’s a danger to our collective aim to improve cancer outcomes.”
More more information on the 2025 report, visitcancer.org.
