DERBY, Kan. (KSNW) — What started out as a Massachusetts woman demanding answers became a Kansas man’s quest to shed light on the dangers of PFAS in firefighting protective gear.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), PFAS is short for polyfluoroalkyl substances, which is a group of chemicals used to make heat, oil, stain, grease, and water-resistant products. This substance can be used on clothing, furniture, adhesives, food packaging, non-stick cooking surfaces, and even the insulation of electrical wire.
“Late in 2016, I got an email from Diane Cotter…to be honest, at first, I thought she was crazy,” Derby volunteer firefighter Jonathan Marr said.
In his spare time, Marr acts as the editor-in-chief for the website station-pride.com. He says after reading over Cotter’s evidence of a potential PFAS exposure hazard, he knew she was onto something.
“It became pretty clear to me that something was fishy, and, you know, we needed to tell this story,” Marr said.
It was then Marr and Cotter created a committee with a small group of firefighters from across the country. After securing $20,000 in funding from the Last Call Foundation, the committee commissioned a formal study to test the amount of PFAS in protective gear.
“1.2 million firefighters are wearing this,” Dr. Graham Peaslee, a Notre Dame professor who conducted the study, said.
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