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Have You Been Exposed? Reach Out Now.
Risks from Exposure
Both military and civilian firefighters are at risk to being exposed to AFFF. Within the last few years there have been protection measures utilized to mitigate the risk of firefighters’ exposure to AFFF, but exposure is still possible. Exposure can happen through breathing, touching, or ingestion. Firefighters in the military and firefighters assigned to airports are most likely to have interacted with AFFF.
Long-term exposure to AFFF increases risks of developing multiple diseases and conditions. These include higher risks in developing:
- Kidney Cancer
- Pancreatic Cancer
- Testicular Cancer
- Breast Cancer
- Lymphoma
- Leukemia
- Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
- Ovarian Cancer
- Prostate Cancer
- Bladder Cancer
- Testicular Cancer
- Kidney Damage & Cancer
- Liver Damage
- Thyroid Disease
- Asthma
- High level of Cholesterol
- Changes in the chemical properties of liver enzymes
- Decreases in the weights of newborn babies
- High blood pressure or preeclampsia
- Changes in the immune system
IMPACT ON THE IMMUNE SYSTEM
Toxicologists have a particular concern over the impact of PFAS on the immune system as this would lead to several other diseases. The studies of animal and human models provided strong evidence that PFAS lessens the ability of a human body to respond to any disease or a vaccine if he is exposed to them for a longer time. Most recently, scientists are to understand the impact of PFAS on the coronavirus and the relevant vaccinations.
A study in 2015 conducted by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey discovered a shocking fact: nearly all Americans sampled had PFAS in their blood as people are often exposed to such “forever chemicals” through contaminated water, food, air, and cosmetics. As a result of that, US companies have stopped the manufacture of the two famous PFAS i.e. PFOA and PFOS. However, the truth is that these chemicals persist in the environment for quite a long time with some having a half-life of over 1,000 years in the soil.
PROLONGED EXPOSURE LEADS TO LUNG CANCER
According to the US fire administration, AFFF is toxic if it contains PFOS and PFOA. If a person is subject to them for a long time, then they may negatively affect human health by causing cancer. The most common types of cancers caused are kidney and testicular cancers. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has deemed the forever chemical PFOA as a carcinogen. It means that it is a cancer-causing agent for humans.
WHO IS MOST VULNERABLE TO AFFF?
The military is the biggest user of firefighting foams in the US which constitutes approximately 75% of the market. Apart from this, municipal fire departments use 13% of the AFFF market while petroleum processors have a 5% share.
REFERENCES
Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF). (2021, September 9). Retrieved from ConsumerNotice.org