PFAS in Turnout Gear: What Research Shows

Does wear and tear change the PFAS in gear?

In lab tests, it can. NIST found that rubbing raised the PFAS it could measure in all gear fabrics. Heat and weather raised it in the outer shell. Washing changed little. NIST could not tell whether more PFAS formed or was just easier to pull out.

These tests built on NIST’s 2023 study of new gear fabric. In a 2024 follow-up, researchers rubbed, heated and washed the same 20 fabrics. Outer shells were also weathered. Rubbing raised the measured PFAS in every type of fabric; in the typical sample, the amount roughly tripled. Sun and moisture nearly tripled it in outer shell fabric.

Most of the rise came from fluorotelomers, a group of PFAS that were already the highest in new gear. In new outer shell fabric, NIST found the three main ones only where a fluorine-based water-repellent finish had been added.

The thermal liner, the layer closest to the skin, stayed the lowest after every test. NIST said this could mean less exposure through the skin than the outer layers suggest.

A 2026 NIST report tested gloves and hoods. Heat raised the typical PFAS level in glove layers about sevenfold. Wildland gear went the other way. It showed less PFAS after rubbing and weathering in the lab.

Can PFAS leave the gear?

Some studies suggest it can. In one study, PFAS in used gear had moved into untreated fabric. Dust near stored gear held more fluorine than dust in living areas. None of the studies we read measured how much then reaches a firefighter.

A 2020 study led by a University of Notre Dame physicist found high total fluorine in gear fabric, up to 2%. Used gear had less PFAS than new gear, but more of it had moved into untreated material. A dust sample from a storage area also suggested that PFAS was shedding from the fabric.

A 2021 Harvard study sampled dust at 15 Massachusetts fire stations. Rooms where turnout gear was kept had more total fluorine and three PFAS than living rooms. The wipe samples could not tell PFAS built into the gear from PFAS on its surface.

A 2025 Health Canada study tested nine jackets and pants made from 2008 to 2019. Fluorotelomer alcohols made up more than half the PFAS found. Older jackets tended to carry PFOS, and newer ones PFBS. In the moisture barrier, these alcohols rose with the gear’s age; the highest level was in a 2011 garment that had never been used.

Do firefighters have more PFAS in their blood?

Several studies found higher levels of some PFAS in firefighters. The largest rises tend to be in PFAS linked to foam. Gear is one possible source among several, along with foam and drinking water.

A 2020 study compared 86 women firefighters in San Francisco with 84 women office workers. The firefighters had higher levels of some PFAS. The researchers did not test the gear, and they did not know which foam products the department had used.

A 2026 UK study tested the blood of 942 firefighters and 282 other adults. The biggest gaps were in PFAS long tied to foam. For one of them, PFHxS, firefighters’ levels were about four times higher. Four PFAS turned up only in firefighters, and the authors say three are common in turnout gear.

A 2026 study of 2,056 U.S. career firefighters looked for factors linked to blood PFAS. How gear was stored and carried was one of them. Others included foam use, drinking water, military service and giving blood or plasma.

What can’t these studies tell you yet?

They do not show how much PFAS moves from gear into a firefighter’s body. None of them can link one person’s illness to their gear. NIST says its gear studies do not judge health risk.

IARC, the World Health Organization’s cancer agency, lists gear made with PFAS as one possible source for firefighters. Fire-scene dust and smoke and foam are on the same list. IARC says how much each route adds is not fully understood, and that foam may be the largest source for many firefighters.

NIST says firefighters may have a higher risk of some cancers, but not necessarily because of PFAS. It also notes that used gear might pick up toxic substances at fires, which could make studies of used gear harder to read.

NIOSH, the federal job safety agency, lists turnout gear testing and studies of absorption through the skin among its PFAS research. Its page gives no answer yet on how much PFAS from gear enters the body.

Should I ask my doctor about a PFAS blood test?

You can ask. A 2022 report from the National Academies says doctors should offer PFAS tests to people likely to have had more exposure. That includes anyone who has served as a firefighter.

The report says doctors should first explain the benefits, harms and limits of testing, so you can decide together. A result reflects the PFAS in your blood on the day of the test. It cannot point to gear, foam or water as the source, and it cannot tell whether you will develop a certain condition.

For people exposed on the job, the report asks doctors to work with job safety experts on ways to lower exposure. Talk with your doctor before you change any care.