OGUNQUIT, Maine — More concerning news about toxic industrial chemicals known as PFAS and their impact on the health of firefighters has been revealed in a recently published study. The chemicals are used to make the firefighter's turnout gear fireproof.
The new study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology found certain textiles used in the protective clothing, tend to release more of the compounds because of everyday wear and tear.
Turnout gear is the protective clothing designed to save firefighters' lives but also contains cancer-causing chemicals.
"When we are in a burning building, we are being protected," Russell Osgood, chief of the Fire Department, explained.
Ogunquit Fire Chief Russell Osgood showed how turnout gear has three protective layers made with industrial chemicals known as PFAS to keep first responders safe from flames and heat. Now a new study has found everyday wear and tear increases the amount of the chemicals released from the fabric.
"That is concerning if all that is shedding off and getting into our bodies," Osgood said grimly.
Exposure to the chemicals has been linked to several health issues, including organ-related cancers. Fighting fires in the protective equipment is fueling a cancer epidemic among first responders.
Rick Davis is a chemist who co-authored the NIST study. It's a follow-up to a report last year that identified the presence forever chemicals in turnout gear.
Researchers identified 20 types of PFAS in the fabrics of firefighter gear, which underwent several stress tests including heat, weathering, and abrasion.
"We don't yet know how these PFAS migrate in the fabrics or how they get into the firefighters' blood," Davis stated.
The highest concentrations of the chemicals were found in the outer shell fabric, and the lowest was found in the thermal liner next to the skin.
"I think what we are beginning to realize as firefighters use their gear is that the PFAS profile is going to change," Davis said.
Osgood said his firefighters only wear their turnout gear to calls that involve attacking fires. They also wash down their turnout gear equipment and take showers to lower their exposure.
Osgood serves on the nonprofit National Firefighter Cancer Support Network, which works to educate first responders about the risks of the disease.
The National Fire Prevention Association, which sets the standards for protective gear, is the focus of a lawsuit challenging the testing standards for turnout gear which requires the use of toxic chemicals.
The data will be available to the NFPA and other organizations working to keep firefighters safe.
"I think it will bring us closer to an answer: 'Is this compound needed in our gear?'"
Answers that could lead to replacing turnout gear with a toxic-free alternative one day.