Firefighters Wore Gear Containing “Forever Chemicals.” The Forest Service Knew and Stayed Silent for Years.
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.
Officials at the U.S. Forest Service knew gear worn by wildland firefighters contained potentially dangerous “forever chemicals” years before the agency publicly acknowledged the issue, according to internal correspondence obtained by ProPublica.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, have been linked to negative health impacts, including certain cancers and delayed development in children. For years, PFAS chemicals were commonly used to treat the heavy gear worn by municipal firefighters to help it repel water and oil.
Federal agencies have said little about whether the compounds were also found in the lighter heat-resistant clothing worn by wildland firefighters. In February 2024, when ProPublica was reporting on the dangers of wildland firefighting — including the risk of cancer — the news organization asked both the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior if federal wildland firefighting gear contained PFAS. Both agencies gave nearly identical answers, writing that they did not have “specific measured concentration data showing that PFAS is contained in protective clothing and gear.”
But email correspondence obtained by ProPublica shows that government officials were alerted to the presence of PFAS in pants used by wildland firefighters as early as 2021. In April 2022, a senior Forest Service official asked colleagues if they had an obligation to tell firefighters that PFAS had been found in their gear.
According to the emails, the agency decided not to immediately share the information, instead waiting for the results of a study into whether PFAS can be absorbed through the skin.
The emails were released last week in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed in 2022 by George Broyles, a former Forest Service employee who for years studied smoke exposure among firefighters, and who has repeatedly raised concerns about the agency’s reluctance to acknowledge cancer among its workforce. “They just obfuscate,” said Broyles. “It’s just a continuation of the same thing: ‘We’re going to stick our heads in the sand and hope that nobody notices.’”
The Forest Service declined to answer questions about the records, PFAS chemicals in its gear, and firefighter health. In 2024, the agency said in a statement to ProPublica, “The Forest Service is deeply committed to not only understanding occupational risks to employees but mitigating these risks.”
The Department of the Interior did not answer questions about PFAS.
By 2021, public awareness of the ubiquity and risks of PFAS was rising. At the beginning of that year, Congress ordered the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a subagency of the Department of Commerce, to find out if firefighting gear contained PFAS. Researchers from the agency began collecting hoods and gloves worn by municipal firefighters — who tackle building fires — as well as various samples of wildland firefighting gear.
In April, according to the documents, a Forest Service equipment specialist emailed one of its suppliers, TenCate, which produces fabric used in wildland firefighting gear. At the time, the company’s “Advance” fabric, a Kevlar blend used in some pants, …
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.
Officials at the U.S. Forest Service knew gear worn by wildland firefighters contained potentially dangerous “forever chemicals” years before the agency publicly acknowledged the issue, according to internal correspondence obtained by ProPublica.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, have been linked to negative health impacts, including certain cancers and delayed development in children. For years, PFAS chemicals were commonly used to treat the heavy gear worn by municipal firefighters to help it repel water and oil.
Federal agencies have said little about whether the compounds were also found in the lighter heat-resistant clothing worn by wildland firefighters. In February 2024, when ProPublica was reporting on the dangers of wildland firefighting — including the risk of cancer — the news organization asked both the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior if federal wildland firefighting gear contained PFAS. Both agencies gave nearly identical answers, writing that they did not have “specific measured concentration data showing that PFAS is contained in protective clothing and gear.”
But email correspondence obtained by ProPublica shows that government officials were alerted to the presence of PFAS in pants used by wildland firefighters as early as 2021. In April 2022, a senior Forest Service official asked colleagues if they had an obligation to tell firefighters that PFAS had been found in their gear.
According to the emails, the agency decided not to immediately share the information, instead waiting for the results of a study into whether PFAS can be absorbed through the skin.
The emails were released last week in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed in 2022 by George Broyles, a former Forest Service employee who for years studied smoke exposure among firefighters, and who has repeatedly raised concerns about the agency’s reluctance to acknowledge cancer among its workforce. “They just obfuscate,” said Broyles. “It’s just a continuation of the same thing: ‘We’re going to stick our heads in the sand and hope that nobody notices.’”
The Forest Service declined to answer questions about the records, PFAS chemicals in its gear, and firefighter health. In 2024, the agency said in a statement to ProPublica, “The Forest Service is deeply committed to not only understanding occupational risks to employees but mitigating these risks.”
The Department of the Interior did not answer questions about PFAS.
By 2021, public awareness of the ubiquity and risks of PFAS was rising. At the beginning of that year, Congress ordered the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a subagency of the Department of Commerce, to find out if firefighting gear contained PFAS. Researchers from the agency began collecting hoods and gloves worn by municipal firefighters — who tackle building fires — as well as various samples of wildland firefighting gear.
In April, according to the documents, a Forest Service equipment specialist emailed one of its suppliers, TenCate, which produces fabric used in wildland firefighting gear. At the time, the company’s “Advance” fabric, a Kevlar blend used in some pants, …
Firefighters Wore Gear Containing “Forever Chemicals.” The Forest Service Knew and Stayed Silent for Years.
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.
Officials at the U.S. Forest Service knew gear worn by wildland firefighters contained potentially dangerous “forever chemicals” years before the agency publicly acknowledged the issue, according to internal correspondence obtained by ProPublica.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, have been linked to negative health impacts, including certain cancers and delayed development in children. For years, PFAS chemicals were commonly used to treat the heavy gear worn by municipal firefighters to help it repel water and oil.
Federal agencies have said little about whether the compounds were also found in the lighter heat-resistant clothing worn by wildland firefighters. In February 2024, when ProPublica was reporting on the dangers of wildland firefighting — including the risk of cancer — the news organization asked both the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior if federal wildland firefighting gear contained PFAS. Both agencies gave nearly identical answers, writing that they did not have “specific measured concentration data showing that PFAS is contained in protective clothing and gear.”
But email correspondence obtained by ProPublica shows that government officials were alerted to the presence of PFAS in pants used by wildland firefighters as early as 2021. In April 2022, a senior Forest Service official asked colleagues if they had an obligation to tell firefighters that PFAS had been found in their gear.
According to the emails, the agency decided not to immediately share the information, instead waiting for the results of a study into whether PFAS can be absorbed through the skin.
The emails were released last week in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed in 2022 by George Broyles, a former Forest Service employee who for years studied smoke exposure among firefighters, and who has repeatedly raised concerns about the agency’s reluctance to acknowledge cancer among its workforce. “They just obfuscate,” said Broyles. “It’s just a continuation of the same thing: ‘We’re going to stick our heads in the sand and hope that nobody notices.’”
The Forest Service declined to answer questions about the records, PFAS chemicals in its gear, and firefighter health. In 2024, the agency said in a statement to ProPublica, “The Forest Service is deeply committed to not only understanding occupational risks to employees but mitigating these risks.”
The Department of the Interior did not answer questions about PFAS.
By 2021, public awareness of the ubiquity and risks of PFAS was rising. At the beginning of that year, Congress ordered the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a subagency of the Department of Commerce, to find out if firefighting gear contained PFAS. Researchers from the agency began collecting hoods and gloves worn by municipal firefighters — who tackle building fires — as well as various samples of wildland firefighting gear.
In April, according to the documents, a Forest Service equipment specialist emailed one of its suppliers, TenCate, which produces fabric used in wildland firefighting gear. At the time, the company’s “Advance” fabric, a Kevlar blend used in some pants, …
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