Gov. Healey signs new law to ban PFAS in firefighting gear

Governor Maura Healey signed a new law protecting firefighters from toxic PFAS chemicals.  An Act relative to the reduction of certain toxic chemicals in firefighter personal protective equipment  bans the manufacture, sale, and distribution of PFAS-containing personal protective equipment, as of January 1, 2027. Starting in 2025, the bill also requires manufacturers to disclose, at point of sale, whether protective equipment contains PFAS. Connecticut passed a similar law this summer. 

“This is great news. Firefighters put their lives on the line to protect us in an emergency, and we must make sure the gear they wear will protect them,” said Deirdre Cummings, MASSPIRG’s Legislative Director.  

MASSPIRG’s Deirdre Cummings and Janet Domenitz are joined by Rep. Marjorie Decker; and coalition partners including Paul Jacques and Craig Hardy from the Professional Firefighters of MA, Clint Richmond, Sierra Club/MA, Claren Ruth, MA Breast Cancer Coalition, Laura Spark, Clean Water Action/MA and MASSPIRG interns Owen Myka-Smith and Ben Haber.Photo by Leise Jones | Used by permission

“While this measure is an important step in protecting firefighters and their families from exposure to PFAS,  there is a lot we need to do to protect the public from toxic PFAS.”

A bill to address PFAS contamination across the state is one of the important pieces of work that the Legislature left unfinished this session. 

An Act to protect Massachusetts public health from PFAS, H.4486 , introduced by Speaker Pro Tempore Kate Hogan and Senator Julian Cyr, would have banned PFAS in several categories of consumer products including food packaging, children’s products, personal care products, carpets, furniture textiles, clothing, cookware, and firefighting foam; prevented industrial discharges of PFAS to water; set up a fund to help test and treat private wells and public water systems for PFAS; authorized the Department of Public Health to add additional products for restriction; required the state to study PFAS in agriculture and phased out the use of PFAS-containing fertilizer on farms.  

“PFAS are causing real harm,” said Joanne Skokan, of Nantucket, whose well water tested at over 5 times the legal limit for PFAS. “Some of the houses in our neighborhood had PFAS levels that were 30 times the limit. We drank the water for years, we are all worried about the health impacts on ourselves and our children.”

Passing the bill to protect us  all from PFAS must be a top priority for lawmakers in the next legislative session.

Governor Maura Healey with Janet Domenitz (l) and Deirdre Cummings of MASSPIRG and Clint Richmond, Sierra Club/MA.Photo by Leise Jones | Used by permission