Higher cancer rates found in military pilots, ground crews
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Pentagon study has found high rates of cancer among military pilots and for the first time has shown that ground crews who fuel, maintain and launch those aircraft are also getting sick.
The data had long been sought by retired military aviators who have raised alarms for years about the number of air and ground crew members they knew who had cancer. They were told that earlier military studies had found they were not at greater risk than the general U.S. population.
In its yearlong study of almost 900,000 service members who flew on or worked on military aircraft between 1992 and 2017, the Pentagon found that air crew members had an 87% higher rate of melanoma and a 39% higher rate of thyroid cancer, while men had a 16% higher rate of prostate cancer and women a 16% higher rate of breast cancer. Overall, the air crews had a 24% higher rate of cancer of all types.
The study showed ground crews had a 19% higher rate of brain and nervous system cancers, a 15% higher rate of thyroid cancer and a 9% higher rate of kidney or renal cancers, while women had a 7% higher rate of breast cancer. The overall rate for cancers of all types was 3% higher.
https://apnews.com/article/military-cancer-pilots-ground-crew-pentagon-study-298f70c4f7581fe5e08637fcb61abc71
I wonder if firefighting foam may have something to do with this?
I grew up near Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington state. There were high rates of cancer among those who lived close to the base.
It was later found out that carcinogens in the firefighting foam used in emergency drills were making their way into the water table.
