BOSTON, MA—Governor Maura Healey signed a new law this week protecting firefighters from toxic PFAS chemicals. An Act relative to the reduction of certain toxic chemicals in firefighter personal protective equipment bans the manufacture, sale, and distribution of PFAS-containing personal protective equipment as of January 1, 2027. Starting in 2025, the bill also requires manufacturers to disclose, at point of sale, whether protective equipment contains PFAS. Connecticut passed a similar law this summer.
PFAS is an acronym for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance, a class of chemicals used in hundreds of products to make products stain proof, water resistant, and nonstick. Toxic even at very low levels, these chemicals increase risk of cancers, immunosuppression, liver disease, and more. Firefighters have high rates of cancers known to be caused by PFAS, including breast, kidney, and testicular cancer.
“This ban is an enormously important first step in phasing out the use of PFAS in Massachusetts. It will prevent firefighters from getting sick and dying due to PFAS exposure,” said Laura Spark, Environmental Health Program Director for Clean Water Action.
“This is great news. Firefighters put their lives on the line to protect us in an emergency, and we must make sure the gear they wear will protect them,” said Deirdre Cummings, MASSPIRG’s Legislative Director.
“This is a great day for our PFFM Membership in the fight against Occupational Cancer that continues to plague the Fire Service,” said Paul Jacques, Legislative Agent for the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts. “Thank you to the Governor, the House and Senate Leadership as well as the entire Legislative body for passing this vital legislation to protect Firefighters across the Commonwealth.”
"I commend Governor Healey and the Massachusetts legislature for their decisive action. Together, we can work towards eliminating PFAS from products and creating a healthier, safer future for our communities," said Ayesha Khan, Nantucket PFAS Action Group. Khan is the wife of a firefighter who has been diagnosed with occupational cancer.
Firefighters are highly impacted by PFAS, but they are not the only people at risk. PFAS are used in hundreds of consumer products and industrial processes and have contaminated the water, soil, air, plants, and animals throughout our state, including the drinking water at 171 public water systems.
“This bill protects our heroic first responders, firefighters,” said Clint Richmond, Conservation Chair, Massachusetts Sierra Club. “We have more to do to protect workers and the public from direct contact with PFAS. Next, we need to address everyday products like clothing and furniture. We all deserve toxic-free homes and cancer-free lives.”
A bill to address PFAS contamination across the state is one of the important pieces of work that the Legislature left unfinished this session.
An Act to protect Massachusetts public health from PFAS, H.4486, introduced by Speaker Pro Tempore Kate Hogan and Senator Julian Cyr, would have banned PFAS in several categories of consumer products including food packaging, children’s products, personal care products, carpets, furniture textiles, clothing, cookware, and firefighting foam; prevented industrial discharges of PFAS to water; set up a fund to help test and treat private wells and public water systems for PFAS; authorized the Department of Public Health to add additional products for restriction; required the state to study PFAS in agriculture; and phased out the use of PFAS-containing fertilizer on farms.
“PFAS are causing real harm,” said Joanne Skokan, of Nantucket, whose well water tested at over 5 times the legal limit for PFAS. “Some of the houses in our neighborhood had PFAS levels that were 30 times the limit. We drank the water for years; we are all worried about the health impacts on ourselves and our children.”
“Passing the bill to protect us all from PFAS must be a top priority for lawmakers in the next legislative session,” concluded Cummings.
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Clean Water Action is a national 501(c)(4) environmental organization with nearly one million members nationwide. Since our founding during the campaign to pass the landmark Clean Water Act in 1972, Clean Water Action has worked to win strong health and environmental protections by bringing issue expertise, solution-oriented thinking and people power to the table. www.cleanwater.org