Understanding the Exposure Pathway
For decades, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—PFAS—have been embedded in firefighter turnout gear as moisture barriers and durable water-repellent (DWR) treatments. The same chemical properties that make PFAS effective at repelling water and oil—the extraordinary strength of the carbon-fluorine bond—also make these compounds resistant to biological degradation. In clinical terms, they persist in human tissue for years.
Firefighters face a dual exposure pathway. First, PFAS-containing aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) has been a primary tool for suppressing Class B flammable liquid fires for decades. Second, and less widely understood until recent years, the turnout gear itself—the protective ensemble worn on every call—contains PFAS in its textile treatments. Sweat, heat, and physical abrasion during fireground operations can cause PFAS to migrate from gear to skin.
The clinical significance of this is substantial. PFAS exposure has been linked in peer-reviewed literature to kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid disease, liver damage, immune suppression, and reproductive complications. For a profession already experiencing disproportionate cancer rates, this represents an additional, preventable exposure vector.
The Litigation Landscape
The legal dimensions of the PFAS crisis are enormous and still expanding. As of early 2026, 15,216 personal injury PFAS lawsuits are pending in a multidistrict litigation (MDL) consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. This is one of the largest environmental tort actions in American legal history.
Major settlements have already been reached at the corporate level:
- 3M agreed to a $10.3 billion settlement with U.S. public water systems contaminated by PFAS.
- DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva reached a $2 billion settlement with the state of New Jersey in 2025.
- Individual personal injury settlements have ranged from approximately $100,000 to $300,000, though outcomes vary significantly based on diagnosis, exposure history, and jurisdiction.
These figures represent the early chapters of what will be a prolonged legal process. The MDL structure allows individual plaintiffs—including firefighters—to pursue claims while bellwether cases establish precedent. If you are a firefighter with a PFAS-related health concern, maintaining detailed records of your exposure history, gear assignments, and medical testing is critical.
New Detection Methods
One of the practical challenges in addressing PFAS exposure has been testing. Historically, measuring PFAS levels in turnout gear required destructive methods that rendered the gear unusable. That changed with a new wipe test developed by researchers at the University of Miami, which can detect PFAS contamination on gear surfaces without damaging the equipment.
This is a significant advancement for departments conducting exposure assessments. The wipe test allows fire agencies to evaluate their current gear inventory, prioritize replacement schedules, and establish baseline contamination data—all without pulling gear out of service for destructive lab analysis.
Separately, an Indiana pilot program demonstrated that increased decontamination frequency following fire exposure correlates with lower PFAS biomarker levels in firefighters' blood. This finding supports what occupational health researchers have been recommending: aggressive, on-scene gross decontamination is not optional. It's a clinical intervention.
The Regulatory Wave
Legislative and regulatory action on PFAS is moving at a pace that fire service leaders must track carefully. The landscape is changing quarter by quarter.
State-Level Action
Nearly 350 PFAS-related bills were introduced across 39 states in 2025 alone. The breadth of this legislative activity is unprecedented for a single class of chemicals.
- California implemented a 100 parts-per-million (ppm) limit on organic fluorine in firefighter PPE effective 2025, with that threshold dropping to 50 ppm by 2028. This is the most aggressive gear standard in the nation.
- New Jersey banned the sale and use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam effective January 8, 2026.
Federal Action
At the federal level, Congress passed the Protecting Firefighters from PFAS Act, which directs research into PFAS-free alternatives and establishes reporting requirements for PFAS use in firefighter equipment. While the act does not impose immediate equipment mandates, it signals the legislative direction and creates a framework for future regulation. Separately, a lawsuit filed by the IAFF against the NFPA over PFAS in PPE standards was dismissed in late 2025 after both parties filed a joint stipulation.
NFPA Standards Updates
The National Fire Protection Association released NFPA 1970-2025, which replaces the previous NFPA 1971-2018 standard for structural firefighting protective ensembles. Critically, the updated standard allows for PFAS-free textiles to meet performance requirements. This removes a significant barrier: departments can now procure compliant gear that does not contain PFAS.
PFAS-Free Gear: Where It Stands
San Francisco became the first U.S. city to transition its fire department entirely to PFAS-free turnout gear, investing approximately $3 million in a partnership with Milliken and Fire-Dex. The program has been closely watched by fire agencies nationwide as a proof of concept.
The key question departments are asking: Does PFAS-free gear perform comparably? Early data from San Francisco and several smaller pilot programs suggest that current-generation PFAS-free moisture barriers and DWR treatments meet NFPA performance thresholds. However, long-term durability data is still being collected, and departments transitioning should plan for potentially shorter gear service life during this first generation of alternatives.
Cost is a legitimate concern. Turnout gear already represents one of the largest recurring capital expenses for fire departments. PFAS-free ensembles currently carry a modest premium, though manufacturers indicate that pricing should equalize as production scales. For departments operating on thin budgets, phased replacement strategies—prioritizing the most contaminated or oldest gear first—are a practical approach.
What Your Department Should Do Right Now
Based on the current science, regulation, and available technology, here are evidence-based steps every department should be taking:
1. Implement Aggressive Decontamination Protocols
On-scene gross decontamination after every fire exposure. This is the single most impactful action available today. Soap, water, and physical removal of contaminants from skin and gear before transport. The Indiana pilot data supports this approach with measurable biomarker reductions.
2. Baseline Blood Testing
Establish PFAS blood serum levels for all active firefighters. This serves a dual purpose: clinical monitoring and legal documentation. If a firefighter later develops a PFAS-associated condition, baseline data is invaluable for establishing causation.
3. Inventory and Test Current Gear
Utilize non-destructive wipe testing to assess PFAS contamination levels in your current gear inventory. Identify the most contaminated ensembles for priority replacement.
4. Develop a Transition Plan
Begin budgeting for PFAS-free gear procurement aligned with your normal replacement cycle. Coordinate with your purchasing cooperative or state contract for pricing. Don't wait for a mandate—the regulatory trajectory is unmistakable.
5. Track Legislation in Your State
With nearly 350 bills across 39 states, your jurisdiction may already have pending or enacted PFAS legislation affecting fire departments. Assign someone to monitor this. State fire chiefs' associations and the NVFC are good sources for legislative tracking.
6. Educate Your Members
Firefighters have a right to understand the risks associated with their protective equipment. Transparent communication—what the department knows, what it's doing, and what options are available—builds trust and compliance with new decontamination and health monitoring protocols.
The Broader Occupational Health Context
PFAS in turnout gear is one piece of a larger occupational health picture for the fire service. For those interested in the intersection of hazardous materials exposure and firefighter health, our hazmat technician career guide covers the training and certifications required to specialize in chemical exposure response. The broader career guides section addresses health considerations across all fire service roles.
The fire service has a long history of discovering, years or decades after the fact, that something we wore, breathed, or used was harming us. Asbestos. Diesel exhaust. Benzene. PFAS represents a case where the science, the litigation, and the alternatives are all converging in real time. The question is whether departments act on what we already know, or wait until the mandates arrive.
The science is clear. The alternatives exist. The time to act is now.
For more on the occupational health challenges facing the fire service, explore our other articles covering cancer risk, cardiac health, and mental health in firefighting.