Whether it is running into a burning house, or dealing with hazardous materials after natural disasters, these brave individuals do what they can to keep their communities safe. One of the most recent threats that firefighters have been faced with is exposure to toxic chemicals called PFASs through firefighting foam. These chemicals have been linked to cancer and other deadly diseases, so it’s important for firefighters and people who love them to know about the risks these chemicals pose to their health.
It’s been 60 years since firefighting foam was first manufactured. The manufacturers used dangerous chemicals, known as PFAS in their production of AFFF (aka aqueous film-forming foam) due to its effectiveness at putting out difficult fires.
What is AFFF?
AFFF is a foam that is used for firefighting. The chemical composition of AFFF makes it suitable to use as a fire suppression agent because when applied, the foam blanket smothers the flames underneath it.
One of the main ingredients of firefighter foam, however, are dangerous chemicals known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
What are PFASs?
PFAS are very dangerous chemicals that have been used since the 1940s. These can be found in everything from clothes, food, and water all over our country. Some common PFAS include PFOA which is most often associated with Teflon coating but also shows up as a contaminant of other products today like packaging materials or cookware containing polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).
The thing about these persistent little toxins we call “PFAS” though? They’re not just one type… they come in many different varieties depending on where you live around here: some might make their home near automotive parts factories while others hang out next door. Some common PFAS include PFOA which is most often associated with Teflon coating but also shows up as a contaminant of other products today like packaging materials or cookware containing polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).
While there are many other types of PFAS, they share some common characteristics. They’re all unregulated and not subject to any federal safety standards. These chemicals don’t break down in the environment and can accumulate over time which means that virtually everyone is exposed to them today at increasing levels as their use becomes more widespread throughout the world.
PFASs have been found in a variety of sources including food packaging materials, textiles, and fabrics for clothing and furniture, paints and coatings used on consumer products such as cookware, carpets, and outdoor apparel. They are also found in firefighting foam (used by firefighters at airports), some types of household cleaning products like stain remover.
These chemicals have been linked to several diseases, including cancer. This has led firefighters nationwide to file lawsuits against the manufacturers who knowingly concealed their dangers for decades despite knowing how toxic they were.
According to studies by the federal government and academic researchers, these substances are readily absorbed into the body through ingestion (when accidentally inhaled or swallowed.
Fire Fighting Foam (AFFF) contains PFAS
Firefighters are exposed to toxic cancer-causing chemicals. These chemicals have been linked to many diseases, including cancer.
According to studies by the federal government and academic researchers, these substances are readily absorbed into the body through ingestion (when accidentally inhaled or swallowed.
This has led firefighters nationwide to file lawsuits against the manufacturers who knowingly concealed their dangers for decades despite knowing how toxic they were.
PFAS-based firefighting foam exposure may cause firefighters to develop:
- Renal or kidney cancer
- Testicular cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- Bladder cancer
- Leukemia
- Lymphoma
- Prostate cancer
- Liver cancer
- Breast cancer
- Colorectal cancer (colon and/or rectal cancer)
- Thyroid cancer
AFFF Cancer High-Risk Occupations
AFFF contains chemicals that can cause people to get cancer. It’s used by all firefighters, including those at airports and military bases. The FAA required the use of AFFF in airports, but they stopped that requirement in 2018. Airports that had been using it were required to find a new way of fighting fires because of the cancer-causing effect of AFFF.
Military Firefighters
Firefighters Stationed at Airports
Until the year 2018, the Federal Airport Administration (FAA) required airports to use PFAS-containing firefighter foam. This is dangerous because it means that airport firefighters are at risk.
FAQ's
PFAS are cancer-causing chemicals. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies the two most common forms of PFAS as probable human carcinogens based on limited evidence in humans and sufficient evidence in animals.
Firefighting foam works by surrounding fuel and separating it from oxygen, thereby starving the fuel of its source of energy (heat).
Occupations at risk for exposure to AFFF include firefighters, certain military personnel (e.g., those that work near or around aircraft fire-trucks), and industrial workers who manufacture PFAS chemicals.
Some organizations are taking steps on their own to reduce exposure to combustion products containing PFOA & PFOS, including using less toxic foams when possible and removing the need for them by improving fuel storage systems. New Jersey has banned perfluorinated compounds in food packaging as well as any use of these compounds in surface coatings applied outside of industrial facilities.
- Renal or kidney cancer,
- Testicular cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- Bladder cancer
- Leukemia
- Lymphoma
- Prostate cancer
- Liver cancer
- Breast cancer
- Colorectal cancer (colon and/or rectal cancer)
- Thyroid cancer
PFAS are dangerous. Chronic exposure to the chemicals can make you sick.
