Read the full article by City News Service (KPBS)
“San Diego County fire chiefs and representatives from fire agencies will gather Tuesday to speak about the potential risks posed by personal protective equipment — called turnouts — that firefighters are required to wear.
According to the group, since 1971, the National Fire Protection Association standard for firefighter personal protective equipment has included per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances — also known as ‘forever chemicals,’ because they are persistent in the environment and in the human body and don’t break down easily.
PFAS can be found in all three layers of turnout gear used by firefighters and these chemicals can be inhaled, absorbed and ingested. The World Health Organization has found sufficient evidence to classify occupational firefighting as a group 1 carcinogenic, a statement from the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department read.”…