Firefighters: Battling Fire, and Forever Chemicals
Firefighters risk their lives to protect us from fires but rarely talked about is how they are also risking their long-term health. Forever chemicals are ubiquitous at the workplace for firefighters.
Sources of forever chemical exposure in firefighting
Turnout gear (routine wear are tear likely releases more chemicals[3])
Inhalational from fires
Fire-retardant foam
The International Agency for Research on Cancer has declared the occupation of firefighting a Group 1 carcinogen (carcinogenic to humans), an upgrade from its previous 2B designation (possible carcinogen). [1] Despite firefighters on average being healthier than the average adults, they have a higher incidence of multiple forms of cancer including gastrointestinal such as colorectal and esophageal as well as respiratory such as mesothelioma.[2]
In 2020, Congress passed the Guaranteeing Equipment Safety for Firefighters Act. This bipartisan Legislation was led by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Cory Gardner (R-CO). This bill directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to study PFAS levels in new and used firefighting gear and perform a risk assessment, and then also provides funding to projects seeking safer alternatives.
Progress is occurring. In 2024, Seattle’s airport because the first airport to switch to PFAS-free firefighting foam. And there is now a PFAS-free and non-halogenated option for firefighting turnout gear from a company called Milliken. Hopefully this technology can be used to keep our firefighters safe and healthy and then also will spread to other consumer outerwear.
And more and more research is being done in this arena now. For example, researchers in Canada sampled PFAS levels in different parts of firefighter gear after varying years of use.[4] The back of the pants had higher concentrations, and the back of the neck had lower concentrations. And newer gear had the lowest PFAS levels overall. Great that they are going into such detail!
Lastly, sadly, and this is not a solution of course, but firefighter who donate blood/plasma have lower PFAS levels than those who don’t! [5]
1. Mazumder NU, Hossain MT, Jahura FT, Girase A, Hall AS, Lu J, Ormond RB. Firefighters' exposure to per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as an occupational hazard: A review. Front Mater. 2023;10:10.3389/fmats.2023.1143411.
2. Daniels RD, Kubale TL, Yiin JH, Dahm MM, Hales TR, Baris D, Zahm SH, Beaumont JJ, Waters KM, Pinkerton LE. Mortality and cancer incidence in a pooled cohort of US firefighters from San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia (1950-2009). Occup Environ Med. 2014 Jun;71(6):388-97.
3. Maizel AC, Thompson A, Tighe M, Escobar Veras S, Rodowa AE, Falkenstein-Smith R, Benner B, Hoffman K, Donnelly M, Hernandez O, Wetzler N, Ngu T, Reiner J, Place B, Kucklick J, Rimmer C, Davis RD (2023) Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Firefighter Turnout Gear Exposed to Abrasion, Elevated Temperature, Laundering, or Weathering. (National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD), NIST Technical Note (TN) NIST TN 2260.
4. Aranda-Rodriguez R, Piperakis A, Papas W, Fantin E, White PA. Profiles of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in firefighter turnout gear and their impact on exposure assessment. Environ Sci Process Impacts. 2025 Oct 20.
5. Gasiorowski R, Forbes MK, Silver G, et al.: Effect of Plasma and Blood Donations on Levels of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Firefighters in Australia: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open 2022; 5: e226257