Mike Wolanin | The Republic The turnout gear of Columbus Fire Capt. Josh Allman, center, and firefighters Marcus Gruner, left, and Craig Johannigman, right, is covered in insulation, soot and other particulate after working the interior of a house fire at 217 Ross St. in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022.
The Columbus Fire Department is phasing out some of the multi-layered coats and pants worn by firefighters amid growing concerns across the country that gear commonly used in firefighting may be laced with long-lasting and highly toxic chemicals linked to cancer and other illnesses.
The concerns involve a class of toxic industrial compounds called PFAS — per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — that have been used in a wide range of products, including some of the gear that firefighters wear to repel water and oily substances and prevent moisture-related burns.
Currently, the Columbus Fire Department is the process of equipping local firefighters with new PFAS-free gear, also known as “turnout gear,” said spokesman Capt. Mike Wilson. The gear will be replaced on the department’s regular gear replacement schedule.
So far, a couple of crews have already started using the new gear, which is made by Fire-Dex, an Ohio-based company that manufactures personal protective equipment for first responders, including turnout gear for firefighters, according to the company’s website. The company says its turnout gear contains “a non-PFAS water-repellent finish.”
“We’re in the process of measuring firefighters who are due for new gear,” Wilson said. “So, they’re putting in orders currently. There should firefighters who are getting that gear soon after they been measured for their replacement gear. To my understanding, we’re going to have more firefighters getting that gear in the coming weeks.”
“The ultimate goal is to provide the safest, most-effective gear for firefighters to be able to do their job,” Wilson said.
Wilson said he was unaware if the previous gear that local firefighters were wearing contained PFAS. The International Association of Firefighters has said in the past that there has been “no turnout gear which is PFAS-free on the market.”
Rising cancer rates
The new gear at the Columbus Fire Department comes as turnout gear has become the latest battleground over PFAS, with firefighters expressing concerns that gear containing the toxic compounds could be one reason why cancer rates among their ranks are rising, The Associated Press reported.
Research suggests exposure to certain levels of PFAS can lead to reproductive effects in humans, developmental delays, increased risks for certain cancers, elevated cholesterol levels and weakening of the immune system, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which proposed limits on the chemicals in drinking water for the first time this past March.
The chemicals are sometimes called “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down naturally in the environment — or do so slowly — and can remain in a person’s blood indefinitely.
Cancer has replaced heart disease as the biggest killer of firefighters, and the IAFF attributes 66% of firefighter deaths between 2002 and 2019 to cancer, according to wire reports. Firefighters are at higher risk of getting several types of cancer, according to IAFF, including twice as likely to get testicular cancer and mesothelioma than the general population.
Firefighters are exposed to a laundry list of carcinogens coming from fires burning hotter and faster than ever before — often due to increased petroleum products in homes, according to wire reports. But as they learn more about PFAS, a growing number are convinced their personal protective equipment or PPE is sickening them.
“We do have firefighters (in Columbus) who have been diagnosed with cancer,” Wilson said. “…We do have members who are currently being treated for cancers, and it presumed that those were probably as a result of our job and the exposures that we had. That is a thing that we’re worried about.”
The Associated Press has reported that thousands of firefighters nationwide have sued PFAS manufacturers and companies that make firefighting gear and foam, seeking damages for their exposure.
Blood tests
At the same time, Wilson said he expects some Columbus firefighters to participate in a new pilot program through the Indiana Department of Homeland Security that seeks to monitor the levels of PFAS in firefighters via blood tests.
The pilot program was established through House Enrolled Act 1219, which was passed by the Indiana legislature earlier this year.
“We’re still waiting on the guidance from the state to determine exactly how that’s going to work,” Wilson said. “It does sound like it will be an application process where an individual who is interested in being in the study will be able to apply to be apart of that testing. I’m confident that we will have members of our agency that will request to submit to sample for that study.”
“Hopefully, we will at least be able to identify members of our department and see what baseline levels (of PFAS) they do have,” Wilson added.
The Indiana Department of Homeland Security told The Republic that it is “actively working on this program” but does not have an estimated timetable for when samples will be collected.
State law requires the department to prepare a report that summarizes the results and includes recommendations to reduce exposure to PFAS among firefighters, officials said.
“IDHS is in the process of establishing the program,” said spokeswoman Anna Shei. “There is no time frame for when it will be completed, but IDHS is actively working on this program.”
PFAS exposure
While most Americans are believed to have been exposed to PFAS at some point, firefighters are believed to be among those with the biggest risk of exposure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Most people come into contact with PFAS by drinking contaminated water or eating food raised or grown around places where PFAS were made or used. The chemicals can be found in water, soil, air, food and numerous consumer products, including cleaning products, non-stick cookware, shampoo, dental floss and cosmetics.
One potential source of PFAS exposure for firefighters that is drawing the attention of environmental regulators is a firefighting foam that has been used by fire departments across the country for decades, including in Columbus.
The foam, known as Class B aqueous film forming foam, or AFFF, is generally used to extinguish flammable liquid fires, particularly in incidents involving aircraft.
The Columbus Fire Department had 300 gallons of PFAS-containing foam as of May 2022, when state officials helped the department safely dispose of the material, Wilson said.
However, the department still has some of the foam in case of a flammable liquid fire involving aircraft at Columbus Municipal Airport. The department mainly uses Class A foam, which is recommended for residential fires and does not contain PFAS, Wilson said.
“That is to be used only in the event that we would happen to have an aircraft incident with fire,” Wilson said.
Locally, environmental regulators have started detecting PFAS contamination in and around Columbus.
In August, Columbus shut down a municipal well between Garden City and the railroad tracks on the south side of the city after testing by state regulators found elevated levels of PFAS.
Last year, Camp Atterbury confirmed that contractors had detected PFAS in the groundwater on the training base near Edinburgh. The contamination may be related to the storage of firefighting foam that contained PFAS.
In addition, routine testing by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management has detected PFAS in fish caught in rivers in Bartholomew County dating back to 2017.
