San Francisco is about to become the first city in the country to ban firefighter clothing made with so-called chemicals for good.
Local lawmakers are expected to pass a law on Tuesday prohibiting the use of protective equipment made with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substancesor PFAS. Long-lasting compounds do not decompose, allowing them to remain almost permanently in the environment.
PFAS can be ingested or absorbed through the skin and have been linked to harmful health effects, including decreased fertility, low birth weight and developmental delays in children, increased risk of certain types of cancer, and increased cholesterol levels, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The compounds were once commonly used in nonstick, fireproof and stain-resistant products, although they have largely been phased out of U.S. manufacturing. But PFAS are still found in some firefighting foams and nearly all firefighters’ uniforms, as they help clothing repel flammable liquids and resist extreme heat.
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Last week, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in favor of the ban and is expected to do the same during the final vote. Once in effect, the law would give the city’s fire department until June 30, 2026, to purchase new protective clothing made without PFAS for its more than 1,400 firefighters.
‘Chemicals forever’ in firefighting equipment
Lt. Magaly Saade, a firefighter and training instructor with the San Francisco Fire Department, had cancer twice, forcing her to undergo radiation and a double mastectomy.
She believes her use of protective pants and jackets – commonly known as “turnouts” – during her 26 years as a firefighter may have contributed to her illness, as they were made with PFAS.
“I definitely don’t want anyone else to go through what I went through,” Saade said.
She added that putting potentially harmful chemicals on equipment used by “people who are already there to risk their lives for you seems very malicious.”
However, the precise levels of PFAS that firefighters are exposed to through their uniforms are still being studied and remain largely unknown. At work, they are also exposed to other carcinogens in a variety of ways. Due to the exposure of first responders to smoke, asbestos, diesel exhaust and other hazards, the World Health Organization classifies firefighting as carcinogenic.
The San Francisco Fire Department has lost more than 300 firefighters to cancer over the past 20 years, according to the San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation.
‘A lower cost than cancer’
Protective equipment made without PFAS is not yet widely available.
Since February, 11 San Francisco firefighters have been testing new turnouts made without PFAS — part of a nationwide test orchestrated by the International Association of Firefighters, a union that represents firefighters, paramedics and other first responders.
The study studies the reliability of uniforms from three companies: Fire-Dex, Lion and Honeywell. The group expects to release preliminary results this summer.
Adam Wood, vice president of the San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation, is one of the firefighters testing the equipment. He said the clothes appear to perform as expected.
“In terms of working on a fire, allowing us to do our jobs, protecting us from the heat – I only have good things to report,” he said.
The estimated price for each stake manufactured without PFAS is $3,400, according to a report by the San Francisco Budget Analyst’s office. Because fire departments typically have two sets, the total estimate for the city is $10.1 million.
“It’s a lower cost than cancer and a lower cost than firefighters’ lives,” Wood said.
Aaron Peskin, president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, author of legislationsaid he believes “it is morally right and financially right”.
“The cost is so small compared to a human life, it’s so small compared to the cost of health care, it’s so small compared to the cost of resolving lawsuits,” he said.
The push against PFAS
Supporters of San Francisco’s ban say the health risks associated with PFAS have been known for years. In 2020, a study at the University of Notre Dame raised serious safety concerns about the prevalence of PFAS in firefighters’ clothing. Since then, government researchers have published similar discoveries.
In 2022, California enacted an almost total ban in firefighting foams containing PFAS, as the chemicals can leach into the environment wherever the foams are used. The foams have served as the industry standard in the state for about five decades and continue to be used in many places.
Other states, including Colorado and Washington, have instituted similar restrictions.
But PFAS are still used in the manufacture of service lines.
The International Association of Firefighters attributes the lack of PFAS-free options to industry specifications released by the National Fire Protection Association and is currently processing some of these standards. The NFPA, however, states that its standards are developed by “expert volunteers,” including “many representatives of the firefighting community,” and do not require the use of PFAS, leaving the choice to private companies.
Supporters of the San Francisco ban believe it could lead manufacturers to move away from the compounds.
Swap ‘one danger for another?’
Questions remain about the long-term safety of PFAS-free alternatives for firefighters.
“We don’t just want to trade one hazard for another,” said Dr. Bryan Ormond, a chemist and assistant professor of textile engineering at North Carolina State University who is researching upcycling materials. “We have to ask ourselves what the tradeoffs are and what might happen.”
Ormond says his work so far has shown that removing PFAS can make firefighters’ uniforms less breathable and more susceptible to burns. He found that alternative fabrics can be up to 60% less repellent than traditional fabrics.
“We’re introducing a potential flammability risk to the fire site where firefighters didn’t have that before,” he said.
Wood agreed that more research and testing is still needed.
“We just need to make sure they still work well as diversions, protecting us from the heat and allowing us to do our work in a burning building,” he said. “We need to know that the PFAS replacement is not swapping one poison for another.”
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