Statement and Question for Senator Markey at Senate PFAS Hearing please;

While the focus of PFAS is currently on water affected communities, this nation’s fire service have been omitted from the conversation,we have no seat at the table, and have been omitted from the 100 million dollar PFAS study awarded to military communities, due to occupational exposure. We have had to hold bake sales and car washes to fund our own ‘PFAS turnout gear studies’ along with a large grant from Last Call Foundation of Boston. These studies will prove what PFAS chemicals are in our turnout gear ranging a span of the last 20 years. We had to procure new, never-worn gear via a grass roots efforts as the makers of our gear, who sit on every aspect of firefighter cancer prevention, refuse to discuss the chemical contents with us. Citing CBI.

This gear is degrading in our fire stations. This gear is degrading in our landfills. See the attached statement from Professor Graham Peaslee I read at the CLF and Toxics Action Center’s Petition for Rule-making to Establish a Treatment Technique Drinking Water Standard for Per-and-Polyfluoroalkyl Substances on January 16, 2018 at Boston DES.

While we focus on the astounding number of PFAS contamination sites, withvarying levels of MRL for PFOA or PFOS from state to state, I’d like you toplease notice the fire fighter who is wearing turnout gear made with PFAS in amounts so staggering it is difficult to comprehend. The attached independent test results performed by nuclear physicist Professor Graham Peaslee of Notre Dame University and released in January 2018, were to test for PFAS in a set of 2004 new, never-worn turnout gear. This gear was purchased by myself, a housewife, who’s firefighter husband suffered a career ending cancer.

No turnout gear manufacturer or government agency stepped in to help us. In fact, the turnout gear manufacturers all vehemently defend that the gear is not made with PFOA. We will soon see if that is true when the results of 20 years worth of turnout gear are published by Professor Peaslee in the next 30 days.

In addition to the PFAS laden turnout gear, we have 58,000 fire stations going unchecked for well-water contamination. Only the state of New Hampshire has sent a ‘warning’ letter to it’s fire stations (attached). However, I maintain a list of ‘fire stations’ who are reporting elevated levels of PFOA in well water. These are not ‘military’ sites. These are municipal and rural fire stations.If the government is tracking these ‘civilian’ fire stations we do not know. It is my belief there is no such tracking taking place.

We have been omitted from the entire PFAS conversation. Is that because 65% of this nation’s fire service will suffer a cancer diagnosis previously thought to be only from Products of Combustion? Quite possibly, it may not be Products of Combustion. Quite possibly, it is the Products of Deception.

I wish to ask Senator Markey ; “Why has the nation forsaken it’s bravest?”

Sincerely,

Diane Cotter

Rindge NH, formerly 58 year resident of Worcester County, MA.