{"id":2032679,"date":"2023-09-15T00:20:01","date_gmt":"2023-09-15T04:20:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/firefighters-fear-the-toxic-chemicals-in-their-gear-could-be-contributing-to-rising-cancer-cases\/"},"modified":"2023-09-15T00:29:06","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T04:29:06","slug":"firefighters-fear-the-toxic-chemicals-in-their-gear-could-be-contributing-to-rising-cancer-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/firefighters-fear-the-toxic-chemicals-in-their-gear-could-be-contributing-to-rising-cancer-cases\/","title":{"rendered":"Firefighters worry that the chemicals in their gear may be causing more cancer cases."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffirefighters-fear-the-toxic-chemicals-in-their-gear-could-be-contributing-to-rising-cancer-cases%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2032679&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><blockquote>\n<h2>Firefighters Exposed to Toxic \u200cChemicals in Gear Face Heightened Concerns<\/h2>\n<h3>BOSTON\u2014Boston firefighter Daniel Ranahan had\u2064 heard about colleagues getting cancer but he \u200bwas stunned when doctors\u2063 discovered a large tumor in his chest.<\/h3>\n<p>He was only 30 and had been in the Boston Fire Department less\u2064 than a decade. But as he investigated his diagnosis of Hodgkin\u2019s lymphoma in October 2020 and sought successful treatment, he learned he and others wore gear that contained the toxic industrial compound PFAS.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou always hear about the dangers. You just never think it&#8217;s going be you,\u201d said Ranahan, who stopped working due to the cancer \u2063and is among\u200b thousands of firefighters nationwide who\u200c sued PFAS manufacturers and companies \u2063that make firefighting gear and foam, seeking damages for their \u2063exposure.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>\u201cThese guys put this on day in and day out to protect neighborhoods and wherever they are working,&#8221;<\/strong> he said.<\/p>\n<p>The multi-layered\u2064 coats and pants worn by \u2064firefighters have become the latest \u2064battleground over PFAS, or per- and \u200cpolyfluorinated\u200b substances.\u2064 It&#8217;s found in everything from\u200c food packaging to clothing and is associated \u200cwith <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/many-people-with-kidney-disease-dont-even-know-they-have-it\/\" title=\"Many People With Kidney Disease Don\u2019t Even Know They Have It\">health problems including<\/a> several types of cancer. \u200bIn March, the Environmental\u200d Protection\u2064 Agency for\u2063 the first time proposed limits on the chemicals in drinking water.<\/p>\n<p>The news that PFAS compounds are in their gear\u2014primarily meant to\u2063 repel water and contaminants like oil and prevent moisture-related burns\u2014is worrisome to \u200cfirefighters.<\/p>\n<p>Cancer has replaced heart disease as the biggest killer of firefighters, and the International Association of Fire Fighters or IAFF attributes 66 percent of firefighter deaths between 2002 \u2064and 2019\u2063 to cancer. Firefighters are at higher risk of getting several types of \u2064cancer, according to IAFF, including twice as likely to get testicular \u2063cancer and mesothelioma than the general population.<\/p>\n<p>Firefighters are exposed to a laundry list of carcinogens \u200bcoming from\u2064 fires burning hotter \u2064and faster than ever before\u2014often due to increased petroleum products in homes. But as \u200bthey learn more about PFAS, a growing number are convinced their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/maui-residents-to-face-toxic-air-after-wildfires-hawaii-health-department-says\/\" title=\"Hawaii Health Department warns of 'toxic' air for Maui residents post wildfires.\">personal\u2064 protective equipment<\/a> or PPE is sickening them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had no idea that the\u200d gear that we were putting on every day was\u200c essentially loaded with PFAS,\u201d\u2064 said IAFF General President Edward Kelly, who was elected \u2063in 2021 on a campaign in part to address dangers of PFAS in gear.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs more\u200b scientific data availed itself, it became obvious that our \u200bgreatest exposure to carcinogens is our a daily donning and doffing \u2063of PPE bunker gear,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n<p>One defendant in the lawsuits, 3M\u200b Co., said in a statement that it \u201cmanufactures a variety of personal protective equipment products that\u200d meet nationally recognized standards to help protect first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/firefighters-fear-the-toxic-chemicals-in-their-gear-could-be-contributing-to-rising-cancer-cases\/\" title=\"Firefighters worry that the chemicals in their gear may be causing more cancer cases.\">responders facing high-hazard environments<\/a>.\u201d Last \u2062year, the company announced it would stop manufacturing \u2062PFAS by \u200dthe end\u200b of 2025 and would work to discontinue using the \u200dchemicals in its products.<\/p>\n<p>Another defendant, W. L. Gore &#038; Associates, says the PFAS compound PTFE used in its clothing is nontoxic and safe.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBased on the body of available and reliable science, Gore concludes its firefighting products are not the cause\u2062 of cancers impacting firefighters, who by the nature of\u2063 their important work are sometimes exposed to\u2064 cancer-causing chemicals \u200bfrom fires,\u201d said company spokesperson Amy\u200c Calhoun.<\/p>\n<p>The American Chemistry Council said in a statement that \u201cPFAS-based materials are the only \u200dviable options for some key equipment that meet the vital \u200cperformance properties required for firefighting\u200d gear.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h2>Heightened Concerns About Gear<\/h2>\n<h3>The PFAS has been in\u200b the gear \u2064for decades. But the \u2062wife of retired Worcester, Massachusetts fire lieutenant Paul Cotter, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in October\u200c 2014,\u2064 raised concerns about it\u2064 in 2016. Until then, many firefighters had \u2063not heard of PFAS or did \u2064not\u2063 know it was in their\u2063 gear.<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Gear makers told Diane Cotter there were only trace amounts of PFAS and it was safe. \u2064\u201cI was attacked by firefighters when discussing the idea that chemicals in the gear \u200dcould be causing\u200b cancer,\u201d she \u200dsaid.<\/p>\n<p>Cotter sent patches of gear to Graham Peaslee, a University of Notre Dame professor who studies PFAS, for testing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was loaded with PFAS. That was the first\u2064 eye opening \u200bmoment that there may be more than just trace amounts,\u201d said Peaslee, who also found the chemicals on gloves \u2062and in firehouse dust.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They\u200c come off and they\u200c pose risks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Courtney Carignan, \u2063an\u200b exposure\u2062 scientist and \u200bepidemiologist at Michigan State University, said she found PFAS at twice the levels of the general population in the\u2064 blood of \u200bmore than half of the 18 firefighters she tested in Nantucket and Fall River, Massachusetts. She \u200calso found PFAS in gear was transferred to the \u200dskin of firefighters.<\/p>\n<p>But Carignan is still investigating how much the gear contributed to\u2062 increased levels of PFAS in the \u2064blood and whether PFAS \u200dexposure may be causing\u200b or contributing to cancer.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h2>Firefighters Take \u200bAction<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Lawsuits on behalf\u200d of firefighters\u200c argue they were exposed\u2062 to significant\u2064 PFAS levels and companies\u2062 knew the gear contained PFAS and that it \u200ccan cause \u2063serious health problems. The suits also allege companies misrepresented their products\u2063 as safe.<\/p>\n<p>The IAFF, which represents more than 340,000 U.S. \u2064and Canadian firefighters, decided in 2021 to no longer accept sponsorships or advertising\u200d from the chemical industry and to oppose PFAS in turnout gear. A Congressional \u2062bill introduced in July\u2062 would\u200b accelerate the search for \u2064safer alternatives and \u200bsupport firefighter \u200ctraining to reduce exposure from existing gear.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h2>No Easy Fix<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>For most fire departments, there is\u2063 no easy fix. Replacing gear is expensive\u2014one set can cost upwards of $4,000\u2014and finding alternatives has proven challenging. Some\u2063 companies are promoting a PFAS-free outer layer but that\u200d doesn&#8217;t solve the\u200c problem because the other\u2064 two layers still contain PFAS, the IAFF said.<\/p>\n<p>Among \u200bthe hurdles, according \u2064to a IAFF lawsuit filed in March, is that the National Fire Protection Association or NFPA standard for gear can only be met with PFAS-infused material. The suit accuses the NFPA of working with\u200b several gear\u2064 makers to maintain\u200d that requirement. \u2062It seeks damages and an end to the standard.<\/p>\n<p>Chris Dubay, NFPA vice president and chief engineer, said in a \u2063statement that the standard \u201cdoes not specify or require the use\u200c of any particular materials, chemicals \u200bor treatments for that gear.&#8221; He said \u200dthe group has no &#8220;special agreements or relationships with any company or\u200d organization\u201d in development of standards.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe manufacturers who are producing this \u200dgear owe it to the fire service to come up with an \u200dalternative,\u201d Brockton Fire Chief Brian Nardelli, who has heard\u2063 of companies promoting gear with less PFAS but \u200bis reluctant to buy it for his 231-member department without more\u200c proof.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, his department \u200dtries to limit firefighter \u2063exposure to gear that&#8217;s been integral to firefighter identity. They would take\u200d it everywhere, including charity events. Now, Brockton discourages \u2063firefighters from wearing turnout gear in living quarters and encourages them to wash it\u2064 after fires. It&#8217;s stored on trucks\u2063 and is only\u2062 to be worn for serious calls like fires and car accidents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGuys have seen \u2063everyone who has\u2062 gotten cancer, guys dying from cancer,\u201d said William Hill, the president of the Brockton Fire Fighters Local 144 who was successfully treated for testicular cancer. \u201cBeing told that PFAS is in the gear, guys don&#8217;t want to take the chance of being overexposed.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><em>By Michael Casey<\/em><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> What are the performance standards that need to be met \u200dfor suitable\u2063 alternatives to PFAS-based\u200b materials in firefighting gear?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Rtments, replacing gear \u2062is\u200c a costly endeavor. A full set of personal protective \u2064equipment can cost thousands of dollars per firefighter. And with budget constraints, many departments are unable to quickly replace\u2064 all \u200ctheir gear. Additionally, finding suitable alternatives to PFAS-based materials that meet \u200dthe necessary performance standards \u200cis a \u2063challenge.<\/p>\n<p>The Environmental Protection Agency&#8217;s proposed \u2063limits on\u2063 PFAS chemicals in\u2062 drinking water are an important step in addressing the\u2063 issue.\u200d However, more \u2064needs to be done to \u200cprotect \u2063firefighters\u2063 from exposure to these \u200ctoxic substances. Increased funding for research and\u2063 development of safer \u2064firefighting gear is crucial. Firefighters \u200bput their lives on the line to\u2064 protect the public, and it \u2063is our duty to ensure their safety.<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, the presence of PFAS compounds in\u200c firefighting gear is a \u2062grave \u2064concern for firefighters. The\u2062 risk of cancer and other health problems associated with\u200d exposure \u200dto these toxic substances is alarming. The lawsuits and actions taken\u2064 by firefighters and organizations\u200c like the IAFF highlight the urgent need for safer alternatives to PFAS-based materials. The health \u200dand well-being of our firefighters\u2062 should be a top priority, and we must \u200bwork together to find a solution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Boston firefighter Daniel Ranahan, 30, was shocked to find a sizable tumor in his chest. Despite being in the fire department for less than a decade, he had heard of fellow firefighters battling cancer. In October 2020, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin&#8217;s lymphoma and began his search for effective treatment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":2032680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2032679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2032679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2032679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2032679\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2032680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2032679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2032679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2032679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}