Medically reviewed by Medicine.com.
By Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Could 14, 2024 — San Francisco is on the verge of passing a ban on “perpetually chemical substances” within the protecting clothes firefighters put on whereas battling blazes.
Metropolis lawmakers are anticipated to move an ordinance on Tuesday that can prohibit using firefighting gear made with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
PFAS have been linked to well being harms, together with decreased fertility, low-birth weight and developmental delays in kids, a higher danger of sure cancers and better levels of cholesterol, in response to the Environmental Safety Company.
Whereas the compounds, which linger for years within the surroundings, have been phased out of most manufacturing, they’re nonetheless utilized in some firefighting foams and practically all firefighters’ uniforms as a result of they resist flames and excessive warmth, NBC Information reported.
If handed into regulation, town’s hearth division would have till June 30, 2026, to purchase new protecting clothes made with out PFAS for its greater than 1,400 firefighters.
San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, who authored the laws, mentioned he believes the ban “is morally proper and it’s financially proper.”
“Value is so small in comparison with a human life, is so small in comparison with the price of well being care, is so small in comparison with the price of settling lawsuits,” he instructed NBC Information.
Lt. Magaly Saade, a firefighter and coaching teacher on the San Francisco Hearth Division, has had most cancers twice, forcing her to endure radiation and a double mastectomy.
She believes carrying protecting pants and jacket throughout her 26 years as a firefighter might have contributed to her sicknesses.
“I positively don’t need another person to need to undergo what I did,” Saade instructed NBC Information.
Firefighters are additionally uncovered to different cancer-causing substances throughout their work that embody smoke, asbestos, diesel exhaust and different hazards; the World Well being Group even classifies firefighting as carcinogenic.
Nonetheless, protecting gear made with out PFAS will not be but extensively out there, NBC Information reported.
Since February, 11 San Francisco firefighters have been testing new uniforms made with out PFAS — a part of a nationwide trial orchestrated by the Worldwide Affiliation of Hearth Fighters.
The trial is learning the reliability of uniforms from three completely different corporations. Preliminary findings are anticipated this summer season, NBC Information reported.
Adam Wooden, vp of the San Francisco Firefighters Most cancers Prevention Basis, is without doubt one of the firefighters testing the brand new gear.
“When it comes to working in a hearth, permitting us to do our job, defending us from warmth — I’ve nothing however good issues to report,” he instructed NBC Information.
Nonetheless, consultants say questions stay in regards to the long-term security of PFAS-free options for firefighters.
“We don’t wish to simply commerce one hazard for one more,” Bryan Ormond, an assistant professor of textile engineering at North Carolina State College, instructed NBC Information. “We’ve got to ask the questions of what the tradeoffs are, what can probably occur.”
Ormond mentioned his work has thus far proven that eradicating PFAS might make firefighter uniforms much less breathable and extra prone to burning. He discovered that various materials might be as much as 60% much less repellant than conventional uniforms, also referred to as turnouts.
“We’re introducing a possible hazard for flammability on the hearth scene the place firefighters didn’t have that earlier than,” he mentioned.
Wooden agreed that extra testing is critical.
“We simply want to ensure they nonetheless operate properly as turnouts, defending us from warmth and permitting us to do our job in a burning constructing,” he mentioned. “We have to know the PFAS alternative isn’t exchanging one poison for one more.”
Disclaimer: Statistical knowledge in medical articles present basic developments and don’t pertain to people. Particular person elements can differ vastly. All the time search personalised medical recommendation for particular person healthcare selections.
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Posted Could 2024
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