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Getting PFAS out of firefighting gear and cookware.
Dear Reader,
They exist in the water that comes out of our tap, in the dental floss we use to dislodge a popcorn husk, in the raincoat we slip on when it’s teeming outside, in the non-stick pan we use to fry up an omelette. They also exist in our bodies, and have been discovered in abundance in the bodies of firefighters. “They” are forever chemicals otherwise known as PFAS, which stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. PFAS, the MIT Technology Review tells us, is a “family of upwards of 15,000 or more human-made and incredibly durable chemical compounds that have been used in countless industrial and consumer applications for decades.”
The “forever” part of these compounds’ moniker refers to the fact that they do not degrade or break down. Rather, they accumulate.
Plenty of research aims to reveal more about the impact of these chemicals on our bodies and in our environment, but what we already know is that they are linked to increased risks of kidney and testicular cancer, decreased infant birthweights, and high blood pressure, the MIT article tells us.
And firefighters just might be our canaries in the coal mine.
Among firefighters, who are exposed even more than the rest of us due to the ubiquity of these chemicals in firefighting gear and foams, cancer is becoming epidemic, according to a story in the Glendale Independent, which reports on an interesting response to mitigating the impact to firefighters. By donating plasma, it’s been determined that firefighters can significantly reduce the amount of PFAS in their bodies. An article in The Guardian notes that even regular folks like us can reduce the amount of microplastics and PFAS in our bloodstreams by donating blood and plasma, though the practice certainly raises ethical concerns, which might be addressed by testing blood for chemicals, something that, at this point, doesn’t happen.
In the meantime, the firefighting foam — AFFF — has been banned in a number of states (and in other countries), in favor of a PFAS-free foam, and there are class action suits under way for those impacted by its use.
Firefighters put their lives on the line for us in many ways. Bluedot’s Lily Olsen brought us this incredible look at a day in the life of a wildland firefighter. And our founder Vicki Riskin interviewed Jordan Thomas, author of When It All Burns, who pointedly told a crowd at a book festival that those who fight wildfires frequently lack health insurance.
Contaminatedly,
Dot
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