Exposure to Firefighter Foam – AFFF – May Result in Cancer
What is AFFF and What Makes It Dangerous?
AFFF has been used by firefighters since the 1970s. It is a fire suppressant that extinguishes flammable liquid fires. AFFF has frequently been used by firefighters at airports, military bases, shipping facilities, and in training exercises for extinguishing petroleum and jet fuel fires. The cancer-causing chemicals in AFFF are per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAs), human-made chemicals that have been used in a number of consumer items since the 1950s. PFAs were first manufactured for the Manhattan Project to create the atomic bomb in the 1940s.
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a toxic PFA that is created as a side product in the aqueous film-forming foam manufacturing process, and some AFFF formulations use other PFAs that pose similar environmental and personal health risks. What Can Happen When Someone is Exposed to PFAs?
Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances are not biodegradable, so they stay in the human body long after they have been ingested or inhaled. Cancer researchers have linked exposure to PFAs with:- bladder cancer
- kidney cancer
- liver cancer
- pancreatic cancer
- prostate cancer
- testicular cancer
- thyroid cancer
- thyroid disease
- ulcerative colitis
Who is Most at Risk?
Firefighters who were in the U.S. Air Force or Navy, and those who’ve fought fires at ports and airports, are at the highest risk for exposure to PFOA and other PFAs. If you were a firefighter from the early 1960s through the early 2000s, you may have been exposed to PFAs.
You may also have been exposed to PFAs if you worked for a company that manufactured AFFF (such as Minnesota’s 3M Company) or other items that include PFAs, or if you lived near a military base or a manufacturing facility where PFAs were manufactured and/or used. In 2000, the 3M Company announced that it would phase out the production of products using PFOA and other PFAs, but serious problems remain, as explained below. Can PFAs Persist in Ground and Water?
Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances have also contaminated the communities near particular military bases and manufacturing facilities. Since 2020, for example, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management has found PFAs in 93 local water systems throughout the state. And in 2022, an Alabama utility, the Utilities Board of Tuskegee, filed a proposed federal class action suit which claims that the 3M and DuPont companies have contaminated drinking water throughout the state with PFAs.Have You Been Exposed?
If you have been exposed to PFAs (in the fire suppressant AFFF or for some other reason) and you have subsequently been diagnosed with cancer from firefighting foam, you may have the opportunity to hold the manufacturer legally liable and to recover compensation for your medical bills and related losses. Wherever you may be in the United States, a national personal injury lawyer can help you trace your PFA exposure and hold the negligent parties accountable. You may receive a settlement or a jury verdict that compensates you for your cancer treatments, lost wages, and related expenses. Veterans who developed cancer after PFA exposure may also be eligible for compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and depending on the state where you live, if you worked manufacturing AFFF, even decades ago, you may qualify for workers’ compensation benefits.What Steps Should You Take?
If you believe that you qualify for compensation after exposure to PFAs and a cancer diagnosis, a national personal injury attorney can explain and protect your rights and help you determine the best way to proceed in order to recover the compensation you are entitled to under the law. In all fifty states, if you are injured because another party was negligent – an individual, a private business, or a government or government agency – you have the right to file a personal injury claim with an attorney’s help and to recover monetary compensation for your:- current and projected future medical expenses
- lost wages and projected future lost wages
- personal pain, suffering, and mental anguish
- related losses and damages
How Many People Were Exposed?
If you worked with aqueous film-forming foam between the 1960s and the early 2000s, see your personal physician immediately for a cancer check-up. There is no way to know how many people may have been exposed to PFAs in those years.
If you receive a cancer diagnosis after working with AFFF or being exposed to PFAs, you will need to compile the pertinent medical and military or employment records in order to take legal action. Your attorney can tell you exactly what will be required in your own case. What Else Should You Know About AFFF and Cancer?
The 3M Company, DuPont, and other chemical companies that used or produced products with PFAs currently face a number of personal injury claims across the United States. Compensation is your legal right if you have been diagnosed with cancer after exposure to PFAs, but you must take the first step and contact a personal injury lawyer who handles these cases in all parts of the country and has considerable experience handling AFFF- and PFA-related cases. Make that call today to learn more about your rights or to begin the personal injury process. Your personal injury attorney will answer all of your questions and address all of your concerns. Big companies, they put profits in front of people. They're there for one reason. That is to make money for their shareholders, but they put that purpose above people's safety. Firefighting foam was basically a manmade chemical called P F A S or PFAS. It's used for firefighters. It's used to suppress liquid base fires, [00:00:30] but these are known as forever chemicals. They're called forever chemicals because they get into the ground, in the environment and they don't leave. They don't break down. When it gets in the body, it doesn't break down, and you have serious and severe health issues. This is serious. This is deadly. The EPA and the CDC saying this causes health problems, period. It's still on the market. It's still being used. And how do you hold [00:01:00] a big corporation accountable? The people who make this stuff that knew or should have known that this is deadly. The only way you can make them stop, make them change, make them admit it; litigation. Hold them accountable. And that's why I come in. I keep people safe. I try to make people whole. I like having clients who have names that do not end with company or INC. I like having real people as clients. [00:01:30] It is poor individual people going against some of the biggest companies in the world. At Greg Jones Law, we have the experience. We have the capabilities to pursue these cases. If you think you've been exposed to firefighting foam, please call Greg Jones Law. We'll ask you a simple set of questions to ascertain whether or not you have the requisite exposure, and then from there on, we will try to represent your interest the very best we can.