Mass. Gov. Healey Signs Ban on PFAS in Firefighters' Gear"

"BOSTON - It was a different kind of phone call that Fall River fire Lt. Jason Burns made on the morning of Aug. 1, after the passage of a bill by Massachusetts lawmakers to ban the use of chemicals linked to cancer in firefighting protective gear.

His six years of advocacy had finally paid off, and he could call the families of the two firefighters he had lost to occupational-induced illnesses to tell them they had won their fight against the use of PFAS in the very equipment that was supposed to protect them.

“It won’t bring them back,” Burns said of the men, who he said died at ages 37 and 32. “But it will save other firefighters in the long run.”"

Kinga Borondy reports for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette August 16, 2024.