[CPEO-MEF] PFAS: Massachusetts "Legislature completes report on 'forever chemicals' ..."

[Lenny Siegel <LSiegel@cpeo.org>]

Legislature completes report on 'forever chemicals' said to cause cancer in firefighters; Worcester part of ongoing lawsuit
Worcester firefighters part of protective-gear lawsuit

by Colin A. Young
State House News Service (MA)
April 21, 2022


BOSTON — After almost a year of studying how "forever chemicals" touch nearly all aspects of life in Massachusetts, the PFAS Interagency Task Force released its final report Wednesday with recommendations that the state regulates Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as a class, restrict the sale of consumer products with intentionally-added PFAS and work to raise public awareness of the ubiquity of the problem.

PFAS are manmade chemicals that do not break down entirely in the environment and exposure to their long-lasting presence has been linked to serious and negative health impacts like thyroid disease and kidney cancer. PFAS chemicals are all around us; they are used in non-stick cookware, food packaging, children's products, carpets, leather goods, ski wax, firefighting foams and more, and they have leeched into drinking water supplies and the soil.

A whole section of the task force report revolves around fire departments and firefighters, who are exposed to PFAS on every shift via their turnout gear and who often come in contact with PFAS in fire-fighting foams.

…

For the entire article, see
https://www.telegram.com/story/news/fire/2022/04/21/legislature-completes-report-forever-chemicals-said-cause-cancer-firefighters-worcester-part-ongoing/7396820001/

—

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
A project of the Pacific Studies Center
LSiegel@cpeo.org
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650-961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org
Author: DISTURBING THE WAR: The Inside Story of the Movement to Get Stanford University out of Southeast Asia - 1965–1975 (See http://a3mreunion.org)

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