The Waco Fire Department is working to phase out airport firefighting foam that contains carcinogenic compounds commonly known as forever chemicals, and the city is poised to join a class-action lawsuit against the products’ manufacturers.
The city recently implemented annual cancer screenings for firefighters as part of an overall push to improve safety, and the local firefighters union is working with the city on offering screenings to retired firefighters as well.
The push comes after a 28-year veteran of the Waco Fire Department, Steve Kroll, died in August from cancer believed to have been caused by the foam, though fire department officials said the timing of Kroll’s diagnosis and the push for greater safety are coincidental, as the city has been working for several years to increase firefighter safety.
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Waco Fire Executive Deputy Chief Robby Bergerson said two fire stations in Waco are stocked with aqueous film-forming foam solutions: Station No. 10 at the Waco Regional Airport and Station No. 3 at the TSTC Waco Airport. In Waco, AFFF has been used in recent years in responses to small airplane crashes and during yearly required training exercises, Bergerson said.
The foam, which is able to choke out liquid fuel fires, long had met Federal Aviation Administration requirements for airport fire protection, but the agency is in the process of identifying, testing and setting guidelines on alternatives. The aqueous film-forming foams contain perfluoroalkyl substances, known along with polyfluoroalkyl substances as PFAS or forever chemicals. Thousands of PFAS, which do not occur outside human production, have been in use in a range of products for decades, and the extent of their health risks has become more widely known in recent years. The FAA’s process to find alternatives for airport fire protection started in 2018, after an Environmental Protection Agency health advisory in 2016.
PFAS, which are known as forever chemical due to their resistance to heat and inability to be broken down by oil or water, are also estimated to be present in 45% of the U.S.’s tap water, according to a U.S. Geological Survey study. According to the International Association of Fire Fighters, PFAS are also present in many kinds of firefighting gear.
Firefighters fear forever chemicals in safety gear could cause cancer: Firefighters around the country are concerned that gear laced with the toxic industrial compound PFAS could be one reason why cancer rates among their ranks are rising.
PFAS can contaminate soil and groundwater and are linked to several kinds of cancer, including kidney, prostate, testicular, bladder, pancreatic, liver, breast and ovarian cancer, as well as leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In the lawsuit Waco joined, which was initially filed in 2018, the city is seeking to recoup costs from testing, monitoring, remediating and treating contamination caused by the foam.
More than 5,600 plaintiffs have joined the lawsuit, which is pending as multidistrict litigation in the U.S. District Court in South Carolina. The lawsuit names more than 30 defendants, including 3M, DuPont, Chemours, Tyco Fire Products, Chemguard Inc., ChemDesign Inc. and Amerex Corp.
A study published in June in the journal the Annals of Global Health reviewed industry documents showing companies were aware of the toxicity of PFAS by 1970 but that their risks were not publicly established until the 1990s.
Bergerson said finding an alternative to AFFF has been difficult because until recently, none was available. In December 2022, Congress directed the FAA to create a transition plan for fluorine-free foam, or F3. The plan was published in May, and on Sept. 13, the FAA notified airports that certain types of F3 had been approved for use.
Bergerson said city and fire department officials are working on a formal proposal for the city to replace AFFF with F3 and to decontaminate vehicles and storage areas that housed AFFF.
Waco Fire Capt. Philip Burnett, president of the Waco Professional Firefighting Association Local 478, said city officials have done everything they possibly can to address firefighter safety. He said that while many plans are in their infancy, Waco Fire is still light-years ahead of other departments. Waco is only one of four departments in Texas to have joined the lawsuit.
Burnett said cancer has become the number one killer of firefighters due to the large number of carcinogens firefighters are exposed to as a result of their proximity to smoke. Over the last two years, the Waco Fire Department has added cancer screenings to the department’s yearly physical, Burnett said. Firefighters are required to pass the annual physical to continue working as active firefighters.
Burnett said union members have been pleased with the city’s efforts in addressing firefighter safety, and the blame for the carcinogens in AFFF is on the manufacturers, as everyone believed the foam to be safe. He said the city has jumped at every opportunity to address the problem.
Burnett said Kroll’s cancer doctor believed his illness was caused by the AFFF based on the type of cancer he had and the fact he worked at Station No. 10 at the Waco Regional Airport. The city approved worker’s compensation to pay for Kroll’s treatments due to getting cancer while working as a firefighter, he said.
Burnett also said the city and the union are working on a plan to offer cancer screenings to retired firefighters to help them as well.
“We want to be able to make sure our past members are taken care of, even after they are gone and separated from here,” Burnett said.
Polyfluoroalkyl substances can cause a host of health problems including cancer.
