Phasing Out PFAS in Firefighter Gear

Boston, MAAs of January 2025, manufacturers and retailers of personal protective equipment containing poly- and perfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals, known as “forever chemicals”, must give the purchaser written notice that it contains the chemicals, along with a reason why they are being used in the product. And by 2027, sellers and manufacturers of firefighters’ personal protective equipment will no longer be allowed to knowingly sell gear that contains “intentionally-added PFAS.” 

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey on August 15, 2024 signed An Act relative to the reduction of certain toxic chemicals in firefighter personal protective equipment., “This legislation marks a vital first step in phasing out harmful PFAS chemicals in firefighter gear… Governor Healey’s action today adds an important tool to our firefighter cancer awareness, detection, and early prevention toolbox,” said a spokesperson for Healey.

Massachusetts joins fourteen other states that are taking action to phase out PFAS in products to prevent contamination in favor of safer alternatives, according to Safer States, a nationwide alliance “working to safeguard people and the planet from toxic chemicals, and to ensure availability of safer solutions for a healthier world”.

PFAS Public Health Risk Complaint

In May 2022 attorney General Maura Healey filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina against 3M Company, Dupont and 11 other manufacturers of poly- and perfluoroalkyl (PFAS) “forever” chemicals used in firefighting foam. The complaint alleges the manufacturers repeatedly violated state and federal laws protecting drinking water and prohibiting consumer deception by marketing, manufacturing, and selling PFAS-containing aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) to government entities, counties, municipalities, local fire departments, businesses and residents in Massachusetts while knowing of the serious dangers the chemicals posed. They caused millions of dollars in damages to communities across Massachusetts by knowingly contaminating drinking water sources, groundwater, and other natural resources with highly toxic PFAS chemicals that pose a serious threat to public health and the environment. The suit also names two companies that shielded assets that should be available to remedy the damages caused by PFAS contamination.

Take Back Programs – U.S. States Collaborating

Take back programs or Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs are based on the principle that whoever designs, produces, sells or uses a product is also responsible for minimizing that product's environmental impact. According to the Circular Economy Practitioner Guide, a take-back program “is an initiative organized by a manufacturer or retailer to collect used products or materials from consumers and reintroduce them to the original processing and manufacturing cycle.”

The firefighting foam disposal programs are part of a concerted effort to manage and reduce the environmental and health impact of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), which contains PFAS.

The state of Ohio implemented a first-of-its-kind initiative to destroy PFAS in firefighting foam. The Ohio EPA explains the process: Through supercritical water oxidation, extreme heat and pressure chemically transforms PFAS into carbon dioxide and inert salt, destroying the PFAS and leaving no harmful byproducts or residual contamination behind. And New Hampshire’s $1M take back program hopes to collect 10,000 gallons of firefighting foam containing PFAS and ship them to Ohio to be destroyed, once and for all.

To see how other states are dealing with forever chemicals, The Fire Department Service Announcement (FSJA) issued a detailed summary outlining take-back programs for foam disposal. Sixteen states (not including California which banned AFFF in 2020 but hasn’t yet established a take-back program) have acted to enable fire departments to dispose of AFFF and related materials efficiently and cost-effectively. The FSJA bulletin emphasizes the importance of these programs and advises fire departments to be aware of the costs and regulations associated with AFFF removal, as well as the potential carcinogens in replacement foams.