New Hanover County firefighters take part in national PFAS study

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — At Cape Fear Community College’s North Campus on Wednesday, leading researchers from NC State and Duke University met with New Hanover County firefighters to discuss the dangers of PFAS exposure. PFAS compounds have been linked to thyroid issues and cancer and are used extensively in firefighting equipment.  

“So that might focus on some of the foams they use to put out certain types of fires, or sometimes the chemical treatments on the turnout gear that they wear,” Duke University Professor Heather Stapleton said. 

Stapleton said the informational meeting also allows researchers to collect samples from firefighters to understand how PFAS exposure is impacting their health as part of the North Carolina Firefighter Cancer Cohort Study, which is part of a larger national study.

“We know that some PFAS are carcinogenic, we know that fire service unfortunately has higher levels of some cancers, and we’re just trying to understand what the links are between the two,” Stapleton added. 

As New Hanover County Firefighter Laura Leigh Bransford noted, cancer is the most common cause of occupational death among firefighters.  

“It’s not just retired firefighters,” Bransford explained. “It’s firefighters that are in their 20s, their 30s, 40s that are being diagnosed with cancer, all types of cancer.” 

NC State Professor Bryan Ormond—who studies protective clothing—said the industry is moving away from PFAS coated gear.  

“It’s hard for us to get PFAS treated fabrics to research now, because all of the manufactures for turnout gear have switch all of the turnout shells,” Ormond said. 

Bransford added that while PFAS can pose an inherent risk, there are ways firefighters can prevent contamination.  

“Making sure that we are taking showers after fires, and wiping down with wipes, and de-con,” Bransford said. 

Ormond said the ultimate goal of this research is to one day reduce the number of firefighters that succumb to cancer. 

“Cancer impacts everybody, my family included, and so to be able to hopefully stop one of those families from hearing that cancer diagnosis, whether it’s from PFAS or the combustion biproducts, that’s why we do what we do, and hopefully, like I said, one family, that’s all worth it,” Ormond noted.

You can read some of Stapleton’s previous findings here.