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Safety equipment intended to protect firefighters from danger can increase the risk of cancer and premature death.
Tests performed on University the Montréal's environmental chemistry laboratory for Radio Canadas Ask revealed high levels of PFAS in the textiles that make up firefighters' bunker gear, the clothing they wear when responding to calls.
The bunker equipment protects firefighters against flames, heat and chemical leaks. It consists of three different layers. All three, including the one that came into direct contact with firefighters' skin, were found to be soaked in PFAS.
PFAS, also known as 'forever chemicals', are a group of chemicals that are associated with an increased risk of developing certain cancers and liver damage, and also negatively impact the immune system. They persist in the environment and the human body.
“We are talking about textiles with very, very, very high exposure to PFAS,” says Sébastien Sauvé, a chemistry professor at the university.
He said the level of PFAS detected in the bunker equipment was equivalent to toxic waste.
“We look at this equipment as something that protects us when we go out to fight fires,” said Chris Ross, president of the Montreal Firefighters Association.
But he wonders if that stuff is contributing to cancer cases among union members.
While some North American cities are working to replace equipment containing PFAS, Montreal has not yet made that commitment.
Firefighters have a greater risk of cancer
According to recent data published by the Montreal Firefighters Association, 77 Montreal firefighters have died from work-related cancer in the past 15 years, while three have died in action.
Firefighter deaths in Montreal account for 90 percent of all firefighter deaths from occupational diseases in Quebec.
And according to Health Canada, firefighters are about 10 percent more likely than the general population to be diagnosed with cancer.
The province is expected to add another six cancers to the list used by CNESST, Quebec's workplace health and safety council. Leukemia, brain, testicular, esophageal, colorectal and breast cancer will be added so that firefighters diagnosed with these diseases will no longer have to prove that the disease is work-related.
The chemical cocktails released when modern homes catch fire, as well as the foam used to extinguish fires, have long been seen as the biggest dangers to firefighters.
But firefighters are increasingly concerned that PFAS, which make firefighting equipment more resistant to wear and tear, heat and moisture, could also hurt them.
“We trust the industry and those who set the standards,” said Ed Kelly, head of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), which represents 350,000 firefighters in North America, including those in Montreal.
“In this case it turned out to be false.”
Quebec now recognizes 15 forms of cancer as potential occupational hazards for firefighters, including leukemia, brain cancer, testicular cancer, esophageal cancer, colorectal cancer and breast cancer, after years of lobbying by firefighters' unions.
But the IAFF also wants lawmakers in North America to ban perfluorinated substances in their protective gear.
“That's not a risk we took when we took our oath as firefighters. That's unacceptable,” said Kelly, calling it the “fight of our generation.”
Decommissioned equipment tested
Ask purchased a recently retired jacket and trousers, manufactured in 2012 and 2013 respectively, as well as another pair of trousers made in 2000, and had them tested in Sauvé's laboratory. All items were used by Montreal firefighters.
Firefighting equipment is usually retired after eight to ten years.
Tests found all three garments contained high levels of PFAS, detecting about 30 different types of the molecule, some of which were banned by the federal government years ago.
The standard work pants, which firefighters are required to wear at the station and are not designed to protect against fire, contain more than 500 parts per billion PFAS.
The most contaminated section of pants from 2000 contained more than 38,000 parts per billion.
“The fact that it is so easy to remove so much PFAS from a firefighter's gear means that some of that PFAS is absorbed by our firefighters when they use the clothing,” says Sauvé, adding that research shows that the chemicals are absorbed by are absorbed into the skin. .
How to reduce exposure?
PFAS are widely used in everyday products such as frying pans, waterproof clothing, food packaging and personal care products. They have become a major source of contamination of water bodies and are found in municipal drinking water throughout much of North America.
“It's in my workout clothes, it's in my cycling shorts, it's in my workout T-shirts,” said Martin Guilbault, who was a firefighter for 30 years and is now a department head at the Montreal Fire Training Center.
“The most important thing is the level of exposure I'm exposed to through the gear versus what I wear every day.”
American research has shown that PFAS are widespread in firefighting equipment south of the border. Previous studies have also found PFAS in waterproof clothing and sportswear, but Sauvé said the levels his team found in bunker gear are in a class of their own.
“They are mega-champions of PFAS concentrations,” Sauvé said.
After reviewing the test results, the Montreal Fire Department said Ask that it has been purchasing equipment in which only one of the three layers contains PFAS since 2022 and that it is monitoring market developments for the safest options.
But critics say the city could do more, such as supplying firefighters with clothing better suited for interventions that don't involve fires. Firefighters are currently required to don full gear when responding to all calls, including when acting as medical first responders.
“For Montreal firefighters, it's our universal jacket,” Ross said. “When it's cold outside, we put on the fire gear. When it rains, we put on the fire gear. We go and fuel the truck, we put on the fire gear. We go grocery shopping, we put on the fire gear.”
Montreal's 2,400 firefighters responded to nearly 80,000 calls last year that did not pose a fire hazard.
An unexpected discovery
The presence of PFAS in bunker gear became public knowledge after Diane Cotter suspected that her husband's prostate cancer was linked to the clothing he wore as a firefighter in the Boston area.
Unable to get a clear answer from manufacturers about what chemicals were in the clothing, Cotter turned to Graham Peaslee, a professor and leading expert on PFAS in consumer products at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.
“When I measured them, they were absolutely not only fluorinated, but highly fluorinated, some of the highest values I had ever seen,” Peaslee said. “And the first thing we saw was the detector screaming of fluorine.”
Peaslee tested more than 40 firefighter outfits from across the United States.
His work also found that over time and wear, PFAS migrate from one layer of dust to another and accumulate in the dust of fire stations where equipment is stored.
As soon as the first scientific article on the presence of PFAS in bunker equipment appeared in 2020, the IAFF issued a safety advisory to warn its members and encourage them to exercise caution.
The struggle of a generation
Since then, a number of lawsuits have been filed against manufacturers in the United States and PFAS-free substances have appeared on the market.
The industry standards body predicts that it will be possible to certify such garments next year. The intention is to limit the total content of perfluorinated substances permitted in personal protective equipment.
Several major American cities have begun the transition. In Canada, the cities are Sault Ste. Marie and Vancouver are gradually replacing firefighting gear with PFAS-free gear.
In Montreal, Ross, who was recently elected vice-president of the IAFF, plans to continue working with the city to ensure the safety of its members.
And he says firefighters will continue to serve their communities with the same dedication.
“Those who work as firefighters want to save lives,” Ross said. “They will continue to save lives even when they are aware of the danger. They will think twice about it, but they will put on their battle gear and go to the fire.”
