The newly introduced bill entitled "HD1670 An Act relative to Parkinson’s Disease and Disability in Firefighters" was inspired by Greg Heath, a Westfield firefighter, who reportedly developed Parkinson’s after 17-years on the job.
This bill is consistent with the policy of the state of Indiana which treats PD as a line-of-duty disability and is similar to the benefit policy of the Workplace Safety and Insurrance Board of Ontario, Canada which relies on a whitepaper I authored for the agency at their request. This legislation assumes that the history of exposure to neurotoxic chemicals encountered in the workplace by firefighters contributes to their lifetime risk for PD. It is im[portant to remember that the cause of PD is not known and, that not all persons exposed to fumes from fires go on to develop PD and thus, it is more likely than not that exposure for fumes from fires is a disease modifying factor and not a causative factor per se.
Link to original story at 22 WWLP.com
This bill is consistent with the policy of the state of Indiana which treats PD as a line-of-duty disability and is similar to the benefit policy of the Workplace Safety and Insurrance Board of Ontario, Canada which relies on a whitepaper I authored for the agency at their request. This legislation assumes that the history of exposure to neurotoxic chemicals encountered in the workplace by firefighters contributes to their lifetime risk for PD. It is im[portant to remember that the cause of PD is not known and, that not all persons exposed to fumes from fires go on to develop PD and thus, it is more likely than not that exposure for fumes from fires is a disease modifying factor and not a causative factor per se.
Link to original story at 22 WWLP.com
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