(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- One of the first steps in addressing health concerns is measurement. For firefighters, one health concern is that their gear commonly contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also called “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down naturally in the environment. Since 2021, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have been systematically measuring PFAS concentrations in firefighter equipment.

In their latest report, they examined how wear and tear affected PFAS in firefighting hoods and gloves used to fight structure fires, and in gear used for forest or “wildland” fires. They found that wear and tear significantly increased the levels of PFAS found in hoods and gloves but decreased them in wildland gear.

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