释放从Notre Dame Newsexamined new research that found “forever chemicals” in turnout gear poses a risk to firefighters.
The study,出版于环境科学与技术信件,was led by Graham Peaslee, professor of physics at the University of Notre Dame.
“当我们跑我们的初步测试时，氟内容如此之高，几乎没有质疑我们是否在更大的装备样品中找到了PFA，”Peaslee告诉记者。“我们的主要关注点 - 与这些特定化学品达成的情况一样 - 成为其中的大部分时间从齿轮上脱离并进入环境？”
Per the report from Jessica Sieff, Peaslee’s team tested more than 30 samples of used and unused personal protective equipment (PPE) from six specialty textile manufacturers in the United States and found them to be treated extensively with PFAS or constructed with fluoropolymers, a type of PFAS used to make textiles oil and water resistant.
Firefighter’s PPE or “turnout gear” is comprised of three layers — a thermal layer, worn closest to the skin, covered by a moisture barrier designed for water resistance and the outer shell. Peaslee and his team found high concentrations of fluorine on the moisture barrier and outer shell. Some of these chemicals have the ability to migrate off treated surfaces and materials, meaning the PFAS in the moisture barrier and outer shell PPE could potentially contaminate the thermal layer and come in direct contact with skin.
“If they touch the gear, it gets on their hands, and if they go fight a fire and they put the gear on and take it off and then go eat and don’t wash hands, it could transfer hand to mouth,” said Peaslee. “And if you’re sweating and you have sweat pores, could some of these chemicals come off on the thermal layer and get into the skin? The answer is probably.” Peaslee’s study is the first to identify this potential source of PFAS exposure in firefighting PPE and argues that more studies are needed.
被称为“永远的炼金术士als,” PFAS have been found infast food wrappersand containers, nonstick cookware, child car seats, and firefighting foams. The use of PFAS-based foam fire suppressants has been linked to the contamination of drinking water systems, leading the United States Department of Defense to switch to an environmentally safer alternative foam before 2023. In a previous study, co-authored by Peaslee, researchers found the chemicals accumulate in the body after entering the bloodstream, and PFAS have been linked to four of the top eight cancers which have been found more commonly in firefighters including testicular cancer, mesothelioma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and prostate cancer.
The study also presented evidence of the potential hazard of these chemicals in PPE in two other ways. Dust samples taken from a PPE distribution facility in one fire district also tested positive for fluorine, consistent with the ability of these chemicals to shed off the gear onto other surfaces. The team also observed fluorine transfer from the outer shell onto gloved hands upon handling, proving that this could be an exposure source from PFAS to firefighters.
“需要进行进一步的工作来评估消防员的这种风险的程度，”Peaslee是一名附属成员Eck Institute for Global Healthand theEnvironmental Change Initiative. “But until this risk is estimated, operational steps can be taken to minimize occupational exposure to these PFAS while still using the PPE to keep the firefighters safe on the job.” Peaslee suggests that the long-term solution would be to find a healthier alternative to PFAS which can provide equivalent water resistance to the gear.
这只是建筑物集合中的最新研究，突出了PFA污染环境和对公共卫生威胁的危险和持久性。
Co-authors of the study include Nicholas Caterisano, Alec Gonzales, Seryeong Lee, Matthew Roddy, Meghanne E. Tighe, and John T. Wilkinson, also at Notre Dame; Simon Mills of Envirolab Group and Krystle Mitchell of the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service. Research was conducted at Notre Dame’s Nuclear Science Laboratory.
研究部分由国家科学基金会和最后一个呼叫基础供资。
Read more about Peaslee’s research on the presence of PFAS in turnout gear at:www.fightingfor.nd.edu/2019/fighting-to-protect-the-brave/.
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