Lawmakers seek to protect Indiana firefighters from toxic chemical, leave Hoosiers at risk
Sarah BowmanScientists, lawmakers and government officials across the country are trying to figure out what to do about PFAS, a toxic cancer-causing chemical. In Indiana, that focus has primarily centered on firefighters.
Those in the fire service have a higher risk of exposure to the harmful chemical: It's been found in their gear as well as foam they use to put out fires. Firefighters also have higher rates of cancer, particularly some types that are linked to PFAS exposure, compared to the general population.
Two bills that aim to help protect firefighters have gained strong support among Indiana lawmakers this year — one that looks at PFAS in their gear and another hoping to better understand levels of the toxin in their blood.
These efforts build on momentum in previous years to phase out the use of firefighting foam containing PFAS across the state. The two bills are taking an important next step, supporters said, and they have received unanimous backing from lawmakers.
“We would like to help firefighters live long and healthy lives,” said Rep. Julie Olthoff, R-Merrillville, who has authored one of the bills. “They put their lives on the line for us, so let’s help them keep theirs.”
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Still, some believe more should be done to protect all Hoosiers from PFAS, which is found in products and the environment and can impact people who are not in the fire service. But another bill that would have established standards or maximum levels for PFAS in Indiana drinking water didn’t even receive a hearing this year.
“It’s good that some bills are getting attention and the topic is not being shut down sweepingly, but at the same time, we would like to see all PFAS bills move forward,” said Nathan Stoermer, Chief of the Greensburg Fire Department.
“We’re worried about our gear and the foam we use and are taking great strides to get rid of it, but what about PFAS in our normal daily lives,” he added. “Firefighters are no different than the general public, and PFAS is in the water for all of us.”
Firefighters need protection from PFAS
In recent years, more information has continued to become understood about the risks to firefighters of PFAS.
A class of chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS are known as forever chemicals because they do not break down like others and linger in the environment and people. Studies have shown links between human exposure and adverse health effects including cancer, weakened childhood immunity or impaired cognition, low birthweights, metabolism and thyroid disease.
These chemicals have been found in the foam that many firefighters have trained with and used to put out oil fires. And new research has shown that PFAS is used in the protective gear that firefighters wear when on the job.
Many firefighters have only recently learned about the threats from the very items that they’ve long used to fight fires. Even more, they are in the dark about what this means for their health.
“Every year when I go to get my physical, now I wonder if it’s my year,” Said Rep. Randy Frye, R-Greensburg, a retired firefighter of 26 years. “Being a career firefighter, I’m concerned PFAS may be in my bloodstream and cause me to have cancer.”
Frye chairs the House Veterans Affairs and Public Safety Committee, where both bills were assigned this year. He said he has watched many peers, both young and old, be diagnosed with disease.
Heart disease and stroke used to be the leading cause of death among firefighters. But from 2002 to 2019, cancer caused 65% of firefighter line-of-duty deaths, according to the International Association of Firefighters.
In 2021, the names of eight firefighters were added to the Indiana Law Enforcement and Firefighters Memorial — six of them were due to cancer, according to then-State Fire Marshal Joel Thacker.
PFAS has been linked to four types of cancer that firefighters are more likely than the general public to be diagnosed with: testicular and prostate cancers, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and mesothelioma.
Indiana has already been a leader in taking some steps to lessen firefighter exposure to PFAS. In 2020, the legislature passed a law to stop using firefighting foam that contained PFAS in training exercises. Just a couple years later, the state launched a program to remove the toxic foam from fire departments.
It’s a voluntary program that provides free disposal and has already surpassed its goal: collecting more than 30,000 gallons of the foam from more than 220 Hoosier fire departments, according to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
“We took a bite at the apple, it was one topic and very narrow,” said Rep. Peggy Mayfield, R-Martinsville, who authored the 2020 fire foam bill. “We said let’s take a look at this and then we can address the issues in a very incremental fashion as we learn more about it.”
Raising awareness for firefighters
That’s what supporters say this year’s bills continue to do.
One bill, House Bill 1219, would establish a biomonitoring pilot program to test the blood levels for PFAS in what backers hope to be around 1,000 current and retired firefighters across the state. The bill, which passed unanimously out of committee and the House, would require some state funding but also would seek federal grants to help fund the program.
The other bill, HB 1341, would require all firefighter gear to have a label indicating if it contains PFAS. The bill does not phase out gear with PFAS, as there are few to no alternatives currently available, but it will make that information clear.
Both of these bills are focused on raising awareness for firefighters — on their levels of exposure as well as the different ways that they can be exposed.
“It’s health, it’s knowledge, and it lets us get the information out there anyway we can,” said Olthoff, author of HB 1341. “We need a statewide full-court press effort so we can get the news out there to raise awareness.”
With the biomonitoring program, the goal is to give firefighters more information about the levels in their blood so they can begin to work with their doctor on care plans, said Rep. Maureen Bauer, D-South Bend, who authored the bill.
Frye echoed that saying it can help firefighters with knowing what to look for and possibly be able to detect diagnosis sooner.
“I don’t know anything more important than your health,” he said. “I spent a lot of my life in fire gear and I wouldn’t mind being tested, I would like to know if I have a high level and need to be seeing my doctor more often.”
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The same is true with the gear, he added, in that it helps firefighters be more aware of the risk and could impact decisions in how they use and store the gear.
Olthoff said another goal with both bills is to continue to pressure manufacturers and companies to work on developing PFAS-free products to help protect both firefighters.
“Let’s send the message to manufacturers that Indiana is yet one more state that doesn’t want PFAS,” she said.
Leaving Hoosiers at risk
Still, PFAS isn’t just a threat to firefighters.
The chemical is in everything: cooking products, food storage containers, water repellent clothes, stain resistant furniture, etc. They also have been found in the blood samples of nearly 99% of Americans tested.
It’s also in the water. A study in recent years by the Environmental Working Group, a national research and advocacy organization, detected PFAS in Indianapolis tap water at a level of 15 parts per trillion — higher than standards suggested by researchers and those that some other state governments have set.
IDEM also began a voluntary statewide testing program in 2021 to measure PFAS in the water of various drinking water utilities — both incoming raw water as well as the finished water going out to residents. So far, the state found the harmful chemicals in the treated drinking water at 10 small utilities in Indiana. Testing for that program is still ongoing and the state doesn’t yet have complete results, but they hope to collect samples from nearly 500 utilities of different sizes when completed.
Despite the risk, a bill that would have established contaminant levels, or the maximum levels of PFAS allowed in drinking water, did not even receive a hearing this year.
The bill’s author, Rep. Ryan Dvorak, said he is glad the state is working to protect firefighters with the bills that have received support. But it also raises the question of why the state isn’t doing more to protect the general public.
“PFAS can potentially contaminate anyone if it is present in their drinking water,” the South Bend Democrat said. “We must immediately take steps to identify contaminated water supplies to prevent future harms.”
Stoermer, the Greensburg Fire Chief, echoes those thoughts. He said he greatly appreciates the efforts to protect his men and colleagues.
“But on that same hand, it is head-scratching that we are addressing it in one way but not the other,” he said. “Water is one of the most ingested substances there is. We as firefighters drink water, we stress hydration, so you can tie it back to us if you have to.”
Some lawmakers say they think it’s premature to be having that conversation and there are too many lingering questions. Mayfield said it’s a difficult topic to tackle because PFAS is “so integrated into our lives” that the state needs to be specific in its approach and better understand potential ramifications.
“I’m not sure there is consensus on what the level should be, or what can be done to filter or remove it. Does the science exist? What kind of regulations are needed and what are the implications?” Mayfield asked. “I don’t think we are ready to have that conversation just yet.”
Some also feel it is best to wait to see what the federal government does. Last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lowered its voluntary health thresholds to a fraction of a part per trillion. In 2016, it was at 70 parts per trillion.
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Now the agency is expected to soon propose enforceable restrictions on harmful PFAS chemicals in drinking water, after finding they are still dangerous in amounts so small as to be undetectable. The costs and implications of such a change and the potential treatment required is unknown, but some estimates say it could cost billions.
Still, Dvorak said the state needs to know more about the contamination in Indiana’s water to be able to protect people. And he continues to bring his bill back again in future years.
“I will not stop working on this until the citizens of Indiana have the protections they deserve,” he said. “This problem will not go away by closing our eyes to it.”
Call IndyStar reporter Sarah Bowman at 317-444-6129 or email at sarah.bowman@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook: @IndyStarSarah. Connect with IndyStar’s environmental reporters: Join The Scrub on Facebook.
IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.