The equipment that firefighters across the country use to protect their own lives while saving others could actually be detrimental to their health.
Heat-blocking gear worn by firefighters has been found to contain chemicals that can cause liver, kidney and thyroid disease, according to the International Association of Fire Fighters, which represents more than 330,000 firefighters and paramedics in the United States and Canada.
"Recent studies have shown all three layers of the protective clothing contain Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), a class of fluorinated chemicals known as 'forever chemicals' which have been linked to cancer" – the leading cause of firefighter deaths, the union said in a joint statement with the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association.
As a result, firefighters nationwide are being urged to limit their use of protective gear to situations where it is absolutely necessary.
"We need to combat what's killing us and I am committed to making sure we do everything we can to extinguish cancer from the fire service. That starts with removing PFAS from our turnout gear and, until PFAS-free options exist, reducing our exposure as best we can," IAFF General President Edward Kelly said in a statement.
Identifying safe and effective PFAS-free materials for turnout gear will be a long and challenging process, the union said. Until PFAS is fully removed from gear, firefighters are asked to follow new guidelines to reduce their exposure to PFAS. The guidelines include transporting gear in sealed containers or bags (preferably not in a vehicle's passenger compartment), washing hands after handling gear, not bringing gear into firehouse living areas, and cleaning vehicle passenger compartments regularly and after every fire.
"It is essential that unnecessary carcinogens are eliminated or mitigated until we can find gear that poses no health risks to our firefighters," Dr. Danny Whu, the union's chief medical officer, told NBC News.
"We can't control most of the toxins we encounter on the fire ground, but we can and must control the unnecessary exposures to chemicals like PFAS in our personal protective equipment," Whu added.
The organizations said they would work with both researchers, advocacy groups, industry stakeholders, manufacturers and legislative leaders to achieve their goal of eliminating "forever chemicals" from protective gear.
"The International Association of Fire Fighters and the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association stand shoulder to shoulder in our combined efforts to rid occupational cancer from the fire service. The time has long passed for occupational cancer to be accepted as 'part of the job," the joint statement said. "We must raise our collective voices and diligently work toward a day when firefighting gear will not be a source of firefighter illness."
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