In January 2018, Dr. Graham Peaslee, the Professor of Experimental Nuclear Physics at the University of Notre Dame, sent unused samples of fire gear to a laboratory for testing. The purpose of the laboratory test was to determine the presence and content of Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).  Last fall, 2017, Dr. Peaslee had performed an initial test to determine the presence of PFAS chemicals where he found the fabrics to be heavily fluorinated. See PFAS test results here. This additional test, performed last month, is used to determine a fraction of the PFOA in the garment itself. The results came back rather concerning. PFOA is a suspected cancer-causing chemical also known as a carcinogen. It’s been recently identified as a component of firefighting foam and is the subject of many lawsuits involving military families, cancer, and polluted water tables at military installations all over the United States. The Department of Defense has banned foam containing PFOA in a memo you can read here. Additionally an article here, and here and here. Military installations around the globe have been draining crash trucks and barreling up foam concentrate, treating it as a hazardous material. Once PFAS chemicals break down into PFOA, it never goes away…ever. It can’t be filtered out of … Continue reading Fire Gear Laboratory Test Results