MAINE MORNING STAR • December 12, 2024
More than 90 percent of Maine’s fire departments are staffed mostly or entirely by volunteers, and these departments face added challenges reducing PFAS exposure to firefighters. Many departments cannot follow the ‘best practice’ guidance to keep turnout gear and other known sources of PFAS like stored firefighting foam out of commonly used areas. Research demonstrates the advisability of storing gear in separate locker rooms, to minimize inhalation of PFAS-laden dust, but fewer than a quarter of Maine’s departments have that option. Acquiring even a single set of fluorine-free gear for all of the state’s roughly 7,200 firefighters could cost more than $30 million, not counting disposal costs for the old gear.