The Utah Labor Commission is taking steps to determine if firefighters and police officers with cancer and other ailments developed the diseases because of hazards associated with their jobs.

The Utah legislature has earmarked $500,000 for use by the labor commission over the next two years to study the issue, and the commission has begun crafting the proposal for the work it will be seeking from researchers. The study will be designed to prove whether there's enough evidence to presume a public safety worker developed a disease in the course of performing his or her job.

A 2002 study of more than 30,000 Florida firefighters showed a higher incidence of cancer among firefighters than the general population, but that study and others have failed to establish a direct link between diseases and the occupation.

“We just don't know what the issue is," says David Daniels, chairman of the International Association of Fire Chiefs' Safety, Health and Survival Section. “Too many folks are dying on the job and from it. We can't prove it yet, but we have anecdotes everywhere suggesting firefighters are getting cancer at higher rates than the general population."

Last fall in Canada, the British Columbian government authorized a compensation act that recognizes firefighters face an increased risk of cancer. The act puts the burden of proof on the government to show why a worker shouldn't receive compensation. It followed similar acts in other Canadian provinces.

A presumptive cause law exists in the state of Washington, and similar laws are being pursued elsewhere in the U.S.