AFFF Foam and the Unspoken Risk at Fire Department Washing Stations

Lingering PFAS chemicals could be exposing local water systems and firefighters to contaminated runoff from gear cleaning stations

Sunday, April 20, 2025 - With an eye toward lowering firefighters' exposure to harmful chemicals, fire departments all throughout the nation have made tremendous progress recently in gear cleaning procedures. Many stations now routinely wash down turnout gear and equipment following fires. But often overlooked is the risk involved in those very cleaning techniques--especially considering AFFF foam has been employed. Normal cleaning may convert wash bays into quiet sources of environmental contamination in stations without closed-loop drainage or chemical filtering systems. Though they are wiping off foam residue, firefighters could be re-exposing themselves to the very chemicals they are attempting to avoid. Washing stations are suddenly becoming a major--and until unnoticed--point of exposure as more people investigate their legal options with a PFAS foam cancer lawyer or join a PFAS cancer lawsuit. The threat does not end at the door of the station. Chemicals known as PFAS are quite tenacious. They do not merely vanish once they are rinsed off gear and flushed into a drain. They can sink in the soil next to firehouses, poll municipal water systems, and seep into groundwater. Some departments created decades ago lacked filtration devices since at the time nobody believed the foam itself presented a hazard. These identical facilities could be serving hundreds of firefighters today and organizing regular training courses, therefore unintentionally increasing the risk each time the gear is cleaned. Sometimes tainted rinse water finds its way on permeable surfaces behind the station or into retention ponds where it gradually enters local ecosystems. The outcome not only affects the exposure of firefighters but also possible damage to the surrounding community including residential areas, businesses, and wildlife habitats. The extent of the issue is just starting to show up now.

One especially alarming problem is that PFAS could be unintentionally disseminated even by stations that stop using AFFF foam. This is so because the chemicals can stay buried in fabric threads, seams, straps, tools, or truck crevices. Every time these items are handled or cleaned, their low quantities of PFAS keep releasing over time. Since the foam hasn't been used in years, a firefighter could believe their equipment is safe; nonetheless, the contamination continues. Those chemicals are carried back into circulation by the wash water without appropriate containment systems. Unfortunately, adding PFAS-specific filtration or containment systems to washing stations can be costly; many departments--especially those in smaller or poor communities--can't afford the changes. They so continue to use antiquated facilities without realizing that their good hygienic habits are ironically driving part of the PFAS exposure loop. Many of the challenging questions firefighters are beginning to ask regarding what happens to the water following gear washing go supposedly received. Today, lawsuits center on unsafe station infrastructure and poor cleaning standards.

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• Individuals and Families Should Test The Drinking Water For Carcinogenic Chemical Contamination | 2/28/2022

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