Cancer Clusters Indicate PFAS Forever Chemical Contamination

Water Contamination Lawsuit News

Firefighters have a high probability of developing PFAS cancer after being repeatedly exposed to firefighting foam

Thursday, April 14, 2022 - Firefighters that have been exposed to flammable chemicals, foams, and recycled firewater, are shown to have high rates of melanoma and testicular cancer according to a publication. PFAS Cancer clusters provide evidence that the local drinking water has been contaminated with PFAS forever chemicals. Unfortunately, for most people, it is too late to do much about it. They may also indicate that people working with PFAS chemical’s were unaware that they were in danger. I recently wrote about the Illinois attorney general filing suit against 3M, the manufacturers of toxic firefighting foam, and covering up what they knew about the foam being washed into and contaminating local drinking water supplies. The Quad-City Times reported, "Attorney General Kwame Raoul notes in the state's lawsuit against 3M that exposure to PFAS has been correlated to liver damage, thyroid disease, decreased fertility, and more. The National Cancer Institute also links PFAS to certain forms of cancer." Their local cancer cluster investigation centered around 71-year-old Cordova resident Dawn Baumgartner who lived on the banks of the Mississippi River was recently diagnosed with the type of cancer that many of her neighbors have either died or are suffering from. Ms. Baumgertner told the reporters the names of her neighbors that she could think of off the top of her head that has been diagnosed with the disease, "One by one, oh they got cancer, oh they got cancer and it just keeps going," Baumgartner said, estimating that along one half-mile stretch of her rural neighborhood, at least eight or nine people were diagnosed." Another cancer cluster was reported the other day by a group of firefighters that have been regularly and repeatedly exposed to toxic PFAS forever chemicals in the firefighting foam they use to extinguish petroleum-based fires. The Age.com reported the cases of three firefighters whose routine blood tests exposed they had elevated levels of PFAS toxins. "Mick Tisbury, Tony Martin, and Alan McLean had each worked in the fire service for more than three decades and were perplexed by blood tests showing markedly different PFAS (per- and poly-fluorinated alkyl substances) levels in their bloodstreams," according to the Age. They were stationed in the same town where a cancer cluster of 16 other firefighters was uncovered. The firefighters reported using huge quantities of firefighting foam not only during putting out fires but also in regular training exercises. "A Monash University study examined cancer and death rates among more than 600 people who worked at the site between 1971 and 1999. In the group of 606, there were 69 cancer cases that resulted in 16 deaths, the study found," according to The Age. PFAS cancer lawsuits are being filed by firefighters and others who have worked with firefighting foam, Teflon or Scotchgard manufacturing or others who handle the toxic materials. Cancer clusters are also showing up in towns that are near military installations like Camp Lejeune Marine Base.

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