Dive Brief:
- Massachusetts will ban PFAS in firefighter protective equipment beginning in 2027, after Gov. Maura Healey signed the bill into law on Aug. 15.
- The legislation will also require manufacturers and sellers to notify and label gear beginning on Jan. 1, 2025, if they are made with the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
- “We know all too well the outsized impact occupational cancer has on firefighters and their families, and this is an essential step in fighting this plague in the fire service,” Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts President Rich MacKinnon wrote in a letter posted on Facebook on Aug. 15.
Dive Insight:
The law will make Massachusetts the first state to ban PFAS in firefighter gear and is one of many victories in firefighters' push to ban the toxic substances from use in the field.
The new law saw some pushback before it was signed. The American Chemistry Council created a petition asking Healey to amend the state’s House version of the legislation.
The chemical industry association said PFAS should not be treated as though they were all the same.
“The bill treats PFAS as a single substance without considering the different characteristics, such as toxicity, environmental fate, and bioavailability, of various PFAS chemistries,” the ACC’s petition stated. “By calling for a ban on all PFAS in firefighting PPE, legislators are putting firefighters at risk of potentially dangerous hazards with improper equipment.”
Cancer is a leading cause of death for firefighters, according to the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety.
PFAS exposure can possibly lead to health conditions such as high cholesterol and various cancers such testicular cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The labor union the International Association of Fire Fighters reported that 72% of line-of-duty deaths last year were due to occupational cancer.
Firefighters are also two times more at risk of getting testicular cancer versus the general population, according to the Firefighter Cancer Support Network.
“PFAS chemicals are a growing and persistent threat to our health, contaminating our water supplies and poisoning our environment,” Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein said in Healey’s press release. “Eliminating these toxic substances from firefighter gear improves the health of firefighters and the health of all of our communities.”
Other cities in North America have taken action to phase out and ban firefighter gear made with PFAS. In May, San Francisco city officials voted to ban PFAS in firefighter gear and approved approximately $10.1 million to replace protective equipment.
City councils in Concord, New Hampshire, and Vancouver, British Columbia, also approved funds to replace gear sets made with PFAS.
The IAFF is also going after those in charge of firefighting regulations. In March 2023, the labor union filed suit against the National Fire Protection Association “for its role in imposing a testing standard that effectively requires the use of PFAS in firefighter protective gear.” The lawsuit seeks damages and other relief.
