Massachusetts Governor signs law to phase out toxic PFAS in firefighting equipment

BOSTON – Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed a bill on Thursday that would phase out the use of PFAS, a group of toxic industrial compounds, in firefighters’ protective gear.

The chemicals — which have been linked to health problems such as breast, kidney and testicular cancer — are used in equipment to repel water and other substances during firefighting. Connecticut is the only other state with a similar law regarding firefighters' protective gear.

“It's one thing to run into a fire. You can see the flames and feel the heat,” Healey said shortly before the bill was signed in Parliament House. But it's quite another, she said, to face the threat of “forever chemicals” – a silent killer that has threatened the health of firefighters and others for years.

“These dangerous, dangerous chemicals. They're in too much of our stuff, but we know they were in protective gear. The devastating impacts are so clear,” she said. “Today, Massachusetts is putting the health and safety of our firefighters first.”

Starting in January 2025, the new law will require manufacturers and sellers of personal protective equipment containing PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) to provide written notice to the buyer at the time of sale that the firefighting equipment contains PFAS chemicals. They will also be required to provide a reason why the equipment contains PFAS.

Starting in 2027, manufacturers and sellers of personal protective equipment for firefighters will be prohibited from knowingly selling equipment that contains “intentionally added PFAS” chemicals — meaning PFAS chemicals or products that break down into PFAS chemicals added to the product during manufacturing.

Firefighters' layered coats and pants have become the latest topic of controversy over PFAS, which are found in everything from food packaging to clothing. In 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed limits on the chemicals in drinking water for the first time.

Richard MacKinnon, president of the Massachusetts Fire Service, said the new law will help reduce occupational cancers.

“This is the strongest language in our country,” he said of the new state law. “The lives of the next firefighters will be saved.”

According to the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), cancer has overtaken heart disease as the leading cause of death in the line of duty. Firefighters have been shown to have a higher risk of developing several types of cancer than the general population.

The state must view the new law as the first step in a longer-term effort to limit widespread exposure to these chemicals, activists said.

“We need to do more to protect workers and the public from direct contact with PFAS. Next, we need to look at everyday products like clothing and furniture. We all deserve toxic-free homes and cancer-free lives,” said Clint Richmond, chairman of the Massachusetts Sierra Club for Conservation.

Supporters pointed to a bill that was not completed in the official session of Parliament that would have banned PFAS in food packaging, children's products, personal care products, carpets, upholstery fabrics, clothing and cookware.

The bill would also have banned industrial discharges of PFAS into water sources and established a fund to test and treat private wells and public water systems.

Other states have also passed laws against PFAS.

In addition to banning the chemicals in firefighters' protective gear, Connecticut has also passed laws prohibiting the use of such chemicals in children's products, clothing and apparel, cookware, cosmetics and personal care products, fabric treatments, textiles and upholstery, and ski wax.

Vermont state lawmakers have voted to ban the use of the chemical in personal care products, menstrual and incontinence products, clothing, cookware, artificial turf and children's products.

And Colorado has added most outdoor clothing, cookware, dental floss, ski wax, menstrual products and artificial turf to the state's PFAS-free list.

In June, a class action lawsuit was filed against manufacturers and sellers of the chemicals and protective equipment on behalf of thousands of firefighters in Connecticut who were exposed to PFAS chemicals in their protective gear.