Excerpts from ack.net:
Firefighters from Fall River and Hyannis joined their colleagues on Nantucket Monday in an effort to begin understanding just how much of the PFAS chemicals in their turnout gear is absorbed into their bodies.
“My involvement really stems from having to bury two 30-year-old firefighters from cancer,” said Jason Burns of the Fall River Fire Department. “Cancer has always been a part of our job, we get it. But something changed. Why are we now burying 30-year-olds? It used to be 50-, 60-, 70-year-olds that got cancer. Something changed and to me, it changed when they started pumping our gear full of these PFAS chemicals. You’re seeing guys getting cancer younger, and the cancer is more aggressive.”
The firefighters took part in three tests. The first was intended to measure the overall level of PFAS in their blood, and see how it compares to that of national averages. Then there were two skin tests; the first before putting on their turnout gear, and then after wearing their turnout gear for two to three hours while they built up a sweat.
The project is being spearheaded by the Nantucket PFAS Action Group, which was awarded a community grant from the Universtiy of Massachusetts’ TURI (Toxics Use Reduction Institute), to learn more about PFAS in firefighter gear.
Nantucket is one of the first firefighting communities in the nation to use new turnout gear that has substantially less PFAS, which is known for its water-resistant qualities, that have coated firefighting gear for decades. Those involved in the study want to compare the results from firefighters wearing the new turnout gear versus those wearing the older gear.
PFAS are a group of man-made chemicals that have been used in a wide variety of products, from food packaging to clothing and household products for decades. Firefighting turnout gear as well as firefighting foam have been known to have particularly high levels.
The chemicals don’t break down easily and accumulate in the environment and in the human body. While they continue to be studied, the federal Environmental Protection Agency has found evidence that PFAS exposure can lead to a host of adverse health effects including certain types of cancer, increased cholesterol levels, negative effects on reproductive organs and thyroid disruption.
