Former Firefighter Claims PFAS in Firefighting Foam Caused His Kidney Cancer

A newly filed lawsuit claims dangerous chemicals in firefighting foam caused a Floridian man’s kidney cancer diagnosis and subsequent kidney removal. This lawsuit joins over 200 others, each similarly alleging that firefighting foam exposure caused health complications like prostate cancer, testicular cancer, heart cancer, and breast cancer.

According to the complaint, James Edward Collie was regularly exposed to aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) during his career as a military and/or civilian firefighter. The former firefighter alleges that exposure to toxic chemicals called per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in AFFF caused his kidney cancer diagnosis and following kidney removal.

PFAS are manmade chemicals designed to resist heat, water, grease, and stains. They were first introduced to the manufacturing industry in the 1940s and have been since included in numerous products including plastics, food packaging, and, notably, Class B AFFF.

“AFFF is a specialized substance designed to extinguish petroleum-based fires,” Collie’s lawsuit indicates. “It has been used for decades by military and civilian firefighters to extinguish fires in training and in response to Class B fires.”

However, since their release on the market, PFAS have been linked to adverse health conditions such as liver damage, decreased fertility, thyroid disease, and cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), PFAS can build up or bioaccumulate inside of the body and never break down, causing the aforementioned injuries.   

Collie’s lawsuit, filed on December 8th, indicates he regularly used and was directly exposed to firefighting foam to help fight fires and train to fight fires. However, Collie was never informed that the foam was toxic or that he would need protective gear in order to safely to handle the foam.

“AFFF and its components are associated with a wide variety of adverse health effects in humans,” Collie indicates in his complaint. “Exposure to Defendants’ AFFF has been linked to serious medical conditions including, but not limited to, kidney cancer, testicular cancer, liver cancer, testicular tumors, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, bladder cancer, thyroid disease, and infertility.”  

Numerous companies across the U.S. manufacture firefighting foam containing PFAS including 3M Company, Buckeye Fire Equipment Company, and Chemguard, Inc. These companies, among others, are named as defendants in Collie’s lawsuit.

According to Collie’s lawsuit, AFFF manufacturers knew as early as the 1960s about PFAS toxicity and never warned consumers about the health risks. Additional studies conducted in the last decade have confirmed the health risks of exposure to PFAS in AFFF.

“By at least 2010, additional research and testing performed by Defendants manufacturing and/or using PFAS, including at least 3M and DuPont, revealed multiple potential adverse health impacts among workers exposed to such PFAS,” Collie’s complaint states.

Firefighting Foam Lawsuits

Due to the increasing, similar claims that AFFF exposure caused injuries, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) decided to centralize these federal lawsuits as part of a multidistrict litigation. U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel now oversees these lawsuits in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, Charleston Division. Collie and other individuals filing firefighting foam cancer lawsuits in this litigation are suing for damages for personal injury caused by PFAS in AFFF.

As part of pretrial proceedings, Judge Gergel established a “bellwether” trial process to help address the increasing lawsuits. Bellwether trials are a series of early trial dates designed to help parties gauge how juries might respond to certain testimony and evidence likely to be repeated throughout the claims.

By the end of the bellwether process, if parties have not reached a firefighting foam settlement, each individual case may be remanded back to the U.S. District Court it was originally filed in for a future trial date.

Firefighters Fear Their Protective Gear Could Cause Cancer: Bloomberg Report

PFAS in Firefighter Gear Alleged to Cause Health Complications

A new report indicates firefighters could be at risk of developing severe health problems from not only firefighting foam but their protective gear too. Bloomberg Law reports firefighters’ “bunker gear” contains large quantities of chemicals called PFAS, or Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. PFAS has been linked to numerous health problems including liver, kidney, and prostate cancer.

“No one had ever heard of it before,” said Paul Cotter, a former firefighter, of PFAS in firefighting gear. Cotter was diagnosed with prostate cancer after a 28-year career as a firefighter.

Cotter faced numerous dangers on the job as a firefighter, from collapsing buildings to heat exhaustion. However, when Cotter was diagnosed with cancer in 2014, further research indicated PFAS in firefighting gear may be to blame for his cancer.

PFAS are manmade chemicals designed to resist grease, oil, water, and heat, making them ideal for firefighting gear. However, health officials like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked PFAS exposure to a number of health complications like lower infant birth weights, increased cholesterol levels, and cancer.

Nuclear Physicist Graham Peaslee was requested by Cotter’s wife to investigate whether Cotter’s firefighting gear had a link to cancer. Peaslee, a professor at the University of Notre Dame, found through his research that firefighter textiles had “high levels of total fluorine.” Total fluorine is a major component of PFAS.

“There’s no question there’s PFAS in the gear,” nuclear physicist Graham Peaslee said. “Now it’s a question of whether it’s getting into firefighters’ bodies and accumulating there.”

PFAS have been added to aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), which is frequently used by firefighters to fight fires in training and on-the-job scenarios. Recent lawsuits and newly enforced legislation have focused on the dangers of PFAS in firefighting foam, working to place regulations on PFAS and pursue further research on the health impacts of PFAS exposure.

Over the last few years, many former firefighters and individuals exposed to firefighting foam have filed claims against AFFF manufacturers, claiming exposure to PFAS in firefighting foam caused their cancer diagnosis. While many of the lawsuits filed over PFAS contamination call out firefighting foam manufacturers for negligence, only a few are seeking damages against turnout gear manufacturers.

“There’s a lot of PFAS chemicals out there, and there are many that we really don’t know what effects they have,” said University of Arizona researcher Jefferey Burgess. Burgess is leading one of the two federally funded studies on PFAS.

Companies who manufacture gear containing PFAS assert their gear is safe for use, denying any wrongdoing. A spokesperson for 3M Scott Fire & Safety said the company “uses limited quantities of certain fluoropolymers in components of firefighter protective equipment.”

“3M’s products have been tested and assessed to help assure their safety for their intended uses,” Sean Lynch, a spokesperson for 3M, said.

However, further studies prompted by these allegations may prove that PFAS exposure from firefighting gear is toxic to human health. Attorneys representing victims of firefighting gear cancer indicate there is a substantial causational link between PFAS in their clients’ firefighting gear and cancer.

“We think it’s going to bring about change in the industry, and ideally give them compensation for their injuries,” said Elizabeth Pritzker, an attorney with Pritzker Levine LLP, which represents two dozen firefighters filing claims in California against foam makers and manufacturers of firefighting protective gear. Each of Pritzker's clients was diagnosed with cancer (nine of them with prostate cancer like Paul Cotter) and had higher than average levels of PFAS in their blood.

“We just need more people to know about it and to demand change,” Cotter said about PFAS in firefighting protective gear. “We can change it. We can make the fire service a little bit safer.”

Military Exposure to Toxic Firefighting Foam

For military firefighters, aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) has been a staple in fighting fires on military bases. In the 1970’s the Department of defense began using AFFF to fight fuel fighters, and firefighting foam has been used in the military for both training to fight and fighting actual fires. For decades military firefighters actively handled and were exposed to AFFF on a daily basis, service members under the impression that the foam was not a hazard to their own health.

However, unknown to military firefighters, for nearly 60 years AFFF foam has contained toxic chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These chemicals, while highly durable and effective in smothering fires, have been found to increase exposed individuals’ risk of a number of severe health conditions, namely cancer. In recent years increasing numbers of military firefighters have discovered their testicular, kidney, and liver cancers were caused by their exposure to PFAS in firefighting foam.

If you or a loved one was exposed to PFAS in firefighting foam while serving in the military, you may be at an increased risk of developing cancer. We are currently investigating claims on behalf of both civilian and military firefighters who developed cancer after being exposed to PFAS in firefighting foam.

PFAS in Military Firefighting Foam

For decades the military has used firefighting foam containing PFAS, highly resistant man-made chemicals. Reportedly the U.S. Navy developed AFFF in the 1960’s, and since it has been used by military firefighters, mainly for fires involving jet fuel and gasoline. Structurally PFAS are designed to be resistant to oil, grease, water, and heat, making them effective in smothering fires.

However, studies link exposure to PFAS to a number of health concerns, some of them deadly. Because of their durable nature, PFAS have been found to build up inside of the body and not break down over time, causing concerning side effects. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) categorized PFAS as an “emerging contaminant,” and have even linked the PFAS exposure to certain cancers. Firefighters who have come forward with firefighting foam lawsuits claim PFAS in AFF caused cancer diagnoses including testicular, pancreatic, and ovarian cancer.

In December 2019 the U.S. Senate decided to phase out military use of PFAS-based firefighting foam after recognizing the cancer risk caused by PFAS. However, this phasing out will not start until 2024. According to the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP), the military uses 75% of all firefighting foam. In fact, reportedly the U.S. Department of Defense stockpiled thousands of gallons of firefighting foam for military use over the decades. Given the length of time the AFFF containing PFAS has been used in military circles, thousands of military firefighters over the years could be at risk of developing cancer from their exposure to toxic firefighting foam.

Military Firefighters at Risk

A recent report states that “Firefighters are particularly at risk from PFAS exposure because they are exposed to AFFF during both training and actual fires.” Military firefighters that belong or used to belong to the following branches of the military may be at an increased risk of developing cancer from PFAS in firefighting foam:

Were You a Firefighter in the U.S. Military?

If you developed cancer after being exposed to AFFF firefighting foam in the military, don't suffer in silence. Research is showing firefighting foam manufacturers knew about the health risks of PFAS for decades and failed to disclose the risks to the public. Their negligence should not define your suffering; we can help you hold them accountable for their failure to protect you. To see if you may be entitled to compensation for your firefighting foam injuries, contact the advocates with Justice for Firefighters today. We offer free, no-obligation case evaluations and have legal representatives standing by 24/7 for your convenience.

Which Companies are Responsible for PFAS in Firefighting Foam?

In recent years researchers have found that chemicals in firefighting foams, or aqueous film forming foams (AFFF), are potentially carcinogenic and may contribute to firefighters and exposed individuals’ cancer diagnoses. For decades many of the most popular firefighting foams on the market have contained per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), chemicals which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicate can cause cancer and other adverse symptoms in those exposed. Some of the most at-risk individuals for firefighting foam cancer are military, local, and industrial firefighters.

According to firefighting foam cancer lawsuits being filed across the nation, AFFF manufacturers knew about the dangers of PFAS chemicals for decades, potentially back to when they were first introduced in the 1940’s. However, these companies continued to make and sell them without properly warning the public about the health risks. For example, the state of New Hampshire is suing eight companies for PFAS in firefighting foams, saying that their products were defective and unreasonable dangerous to consumers and users.

Firefighting Foam Manufacturers

If a company failed to take proper precautions to protect consumers from health risks, they can be held responsible for your injuries. Some manufacturers named as defendants in firefighting foam lawsuits across the nation include the following:

Were You Diagnosed with Cancer After Exposure to AFFF?

If you are a firefighter, were exposed to PFAS in firefighting foam, and developed cancer, you may be eligible to file a claim against companies that made firefighting foam and contributed to your injuries.

A company’s lack of proper safety warning should never define your suffering and injuries. Hold the negligent responsible and call us today. The personal injury attorneys at Justice for Firefighters have decades of combined experience fighting for the rights of injured individuals. For your free case consultation, contact us today at 1.800.935.3533.