RICHMOND, Va. (WAVY) — A Virginia House subcommittee voted Thursday to table a bill that would protect firefighters under the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act.
Supporters, including some firefighters in Suffolk, wanted to close a loophole which allows workers’ compensation to deny some beneifts.
The bill would have added brain, colon and testicular cancer to the list of presumed work-related illnesses eligible for compensation.
Because of the chemicals in furniture and other houshold items today,firefighters are at greater risk for exposure to carcinogens in the air and on their skin.
The latest research supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows firefighters are twice as likely to get testicular cancer and much more likely to get brain and colon cancer compared to the rest of the population.
Delegates want the bill to be studied until next year.
