The new testicular cancer findings, as well as new requirements to fund PFAS testing in some communities, have firefighters like Rhodes on edge.
In 2020, Congress required the Department of Defense to offer active-duty military firefighters blood tests for PFAS, thousands of compounds dubbed “forever chemicals” because they accumulate in the human body and don’t break down in the environment. Some states followed suit or even preceded the federal legislative action.
But even with these published guidelines, finding doctors knowledgeable about interpreting the blood test results and inferring the possible health effects of PFAS exposure can be slow going. To muddy matters further: With so many types of PFAS, not all of them show up in the blood tests. Some compounds manifest elsewhere, such as in organ tissue or other parts of the blood, said Neil McMillan, the International Association of Fire Fighters’ director of science and research.
The aggressive disease has only sparsely been studied and its causes are not understood, although scientists suspect environmental exposures may be to blame.