Fighting fire — and PFAS

Also: Some local COVID news "worth celebrating" [View in browser](    [❤️]( April 18, 2023 Hi CommonHealth reader, I'm just wrapping up work on a [story]( that’s a strong reminder to me that individuals can make a big difference. Diane Cotter is fond of calling herself “a very private individual who fell into a very public rabbit hole of epic proportions.” That rabbit hole is PFAS. Also known as [forever chemicals]( PFAS are a class of chemicals that are ubiquitous in lots of consumer and industrial products in the U.S. (and, as a result, in almost every American's blood). Some PFAS chemicals have been linked to serious health problems, like thyroid disruptions and certain types of cancer. Cotter first learned about these chemicals in 2014, after her husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Complications from his treatment meant he had to give up his career as a Worcester firefighter. Cotter wanted to know if something about her husband’s work could have caused his cancer. Eventually, she zeroed in on PFAS chemicals. These chemicals were used historically in the foams firefighters use to douse fires, and they're still in the protective suits they wear. On average, researchers have found firefighters have two times more PFAS in their blood than the general public. Yet, most firefighters were never warned about these chemicals. If they know about them now, there's a good chance it's because of Cotter's efforts. She says the manufacturers wouldn’t tell her if there were PFAS chemicals in firefighter gear. “It's proprietary,” she remembers hearing again and again. So, she came up with a strategy: “Emailing everybody I could think of.” “And I got one of the 6,000 emails she sent,” recalled Graham Peaslee, a physics professor at the University of Notre Dame, who studies PFAS. He clicked reply. “I’d be happy to test it,” he typed. Cotter scraped together money to buy the gear with cake sales and yard sales, and sent a sample to Peaslee. He ran the tests. “It was mind-boggling,” he said. The levels of PFAS were higher than almost anything else he’d tested. “It took me a year to believe the result,” Peaslee said. When his study came out, the largest firefighter union in the country — the International Association of Fire Fighters — took note. Now, [the union is suing]( to change the gear safety guidelines, and is advising fire fighters not to wear their protective gear unless absolutely necessary.  But others are pushing back. One gear manufacturer, Gore, told me the type of PFAS it uses is safe. The group representing chemical manufacturers said despite years of research, there is no effective alternative to PFAS that meets industry guidelines. And some firefighters worry it is dangerous to make their colleagues afraid to wear their gear. The firefighting community is actively grappling with how to address the health risks scientists are increasingly tying to PFAS. 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