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United Fire Service Women urges exposure-reduction training after biomonitoring finds PFAS in women firefighters
Summary
United Fire Service Women told the Fire Commission Feb. 13 that a UC Berkeley–led biomonitoring study detected multiple PFAS chemicals in women firefighters and that exposure-prevention training and post-fire testing are being rolled out locally and shared nationally.
Catherine Alba, vice president of United Fire Service Women (UFSW), told the San Francisco Fire Commission on Feb. 13 that a collaborative biomonitoring study led by UC Berkeley and the Silent Spring Institute detected multiple PFAS chemicals in every firefighter tested and higher levels among personnel who used AFFF firefighting foam. Alba said UFSW secured grant funding for the study and used the findings to develop training and post‑fire testing protocols for department members.
The UFSW presentation summarized the organization—s history and mission: formed from consent‑decree hires in the 1980s, incorporated as an employee group in the 1990s and later organized as a nonprofit, the group now includes about 181…
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