The IAFF makes legal demands to remove toxic components in firefighter turnout gear
感谢您选择 Automatic Translation。目前，我们提供从英语到法语和德语的翻译，不久的将来还会增加更多翻译语言。请注意，这些翻译是由第三方人工智能软件服务生成的。虽然我们发现这些翻译大部分都是正确的，但并非每种情况下都完美无缺。为确保您阅读的信息正确无误，请参考英文原文。如果您发现翻译中有错误，希望引起我们的注意，请告诉我们，这将对我们大有帮助。我们一旦发现任何文字或章节有误，都会及时更正。如有任何翻译错误，请及时与我们的网站管理员联系。
The International Association of Firefighters claims firefighters clothing contain harmful, cancer causing chemicals and has hired several lawforms to demand change and economic compensation for firefighters with cancer.
Smoke, soot and other byproducts of fire, especially fires with synthetic fuels, are well known to cause cancer among firefighters when repeatedly exposed to them. What is perhaps less known, and more unexpected, is that the firefighting gear itself can contain harmful substances.
As CTIF.org has reported before, some firefighters´clothing and gear has been scientifically proven to contain harmful, potentially cancer causing substances, and this has been publically known since at least 2018, and under investigation since before then.
The IAFF claims some chemical producing companies have known about it for even longer, perhaps even for several decades, and kept quiet about it, thereby harming many firefighters.
Three law firms engaged for possible class action lawsuit
According to an article on Firehouse.com, "the firefighters´ union announced that it had retained three prominent “toxic tort law” firms to demand changes to the personal protective gear firefighters use, and to explore compensation for cancer-ridden firefighters and their families".
The IAFF made the announcement on a Monday press conference at the Caesars Forum convention center in Las Vegas, where the union represents around 850 firefighters in Clark County.
The IAFF´s main concern is a chemical called polyfluoroalkyl substances - also known as PFAS - which are designed to protect against heat, and also against toxic substances produced in a fire. In recent years, these chemical shave been known to cause cancer in the human body.
"Forever chemicals" that can´t be washed away and spreads in your home
The PFAS chemicals are also known as "forever chemicals" because they are absorbed through the skin, cannot allegedly not be washed away and can also be spread at home after a call, rubbing off on whatever surface the firefighter touches.
According to union president Edward Kelly, tens of thousands of firefighters may have been already affected:
“The very gear designed to keep us safe is laden with these carcinogens...the gear we depend on to keep us safe is killing us”, he said.
According to Edward Kelly, the gear U.S. firefighters use has been in circulation since the late 1980s and early 1990s, despite some chemical corporations knowing these substances were toxic.
Although the union were not specific about their planned legal action, they said a class-action lawsuit is a possibility.
The video below also goes into more details about these issues.
