Woonsocket Radio News Room

House OKs ban on PFAS chemicals in firefighters’ gear

 

STATE HOUSE – The House of Representatives today approved legislation sponsored by
Rep. June S. Speakman to prohibit the manufacture, sale or distribution of any firefighting personal protective equipment containing intentionally added PFAS chemicals in Rhode Island beginning Jan. 1, 2027.

The legislation (2025-H 5019), which now goes to the Senate, is one more step in protecting Rhode Islanders from PFAS — per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — toxic “forever chemicals” that are now in water supplies, air and in the blood of nearly every American.

“While we still don’t know the full effects that PFAS can have on human health and the environment, we know enough about some of its health risks and about the pervasive way it stays in our bodies that we should not be tolerating its needless use in products,” said Representative Speakman (D-Dist. 68, Warren, Bristol). “This legislation will ensure that firefighters, who are already putting themselves in harm’s way for the sake of public safety, are not further endangered by being exposed to toxic chemicals in their gear.”

Effective Jan. 1, Rhode Island banned PFAS from Class B firefighting foam. Firefighting foam has been the cause at least two PFAS contamination incidents in Rhode Island.

The ban of PFAS in firefighting foam was part of a broader bill (2024-H 7356Aaa, 2024-S 2152A) that will also ban PFAS from most consumer products sold or manufactured in Rhode Island by Jan. 1, 2027, with additional products added to the ban on Jan. 1, 2029. PFAS chemicals are ubiquitous in a wide range of consumer products, including nonstick cookware, cosmetics, carpets, stain-, water- or wrinkle-resistant fabrics and much more.

Representative Speakman, long an outspoken advocate for protecting Rhode Islanders from PFAS exposure, was a cosponsor of that bill, as well as an earlier bill (2022-H 7438A, 2022-S 2044A) that now prohibits PFAS in food packaging used or made in Rhode Island. She was the sponsor of legislation (2022-S 2298A, 2022-H 7233A) enacted in 2022 requiring the establishment of standards for PFAS contaminate levels in drinking water, ground and surface waters, and the adoption of standards for PFAS monitoring at landfills.

Often referred to as “forever chemicals” for their staying power in nature, PFAS are man-made chemicals that have been used in industry and consumer products since the 1940s. Although the extent of their risks to health are not fully known, they have been linked to cancer and many other health problems. According to a study published in 2021 and an open letter from 171 scientists, PFAS compounds have been shown to have a wide range of adverse effects on human health, including altered immune and thyroid function, liver disease, kidney disease, adverse reproductive and developmental outcomes and cancer.

The legislation now goes to the Senate, where Sen. Walter S. Felag Jr. (D-Dist. 10, Warren, Bristol, Tiverton) is sponsoring its Senate companion (2025-S 0241).

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