Vermont firefighters urge caution on PFAS ban timeline, lawmakers weigh revisions to H.238

Lawmakers heard sharply divided testimony on the portion of H.238 that would restrict PFAS in firefighter personal protective equipment and stationwear, with volunteer and career firefighters asking for more time and study and health advocates urging a ban. The committee’s current draft would require manufacturers to notify purchasers about PFAS beginning in the mid-2020s and would bar certain PFAS-containing PPE and stationwear beginning July 2029.

The choice facing the committee is whether to keep the existing timeline in place, slow implementation to allow more study and market development, or add review provisions. That decision matters because witnesses said the timeline affects department budgets, the availability and durability of alternative gear, and firefighter safety on the fireground.

Fire service representatives said uncertainty about alternatives, cost and wearability is the practical problem. “Our goal is not to stop the ban of PFAS, but to slow down the firefighter gear switching until we can have more data, as to the safety of [what] is going to take its place, and a cost of that gear,” said Dean Gilmore, past assistant chief and…