What the Forest Service knew about PFAS in some gear for wildland firefighters
Fighting wildland fires is dangerous enough. The smoke exposure, changing conditions and mental health risks can be daunting, for even experienced firefighters.
But federal wildland firefighters across the country were also wearing pants containing potentially dangerous PFAS chemicals, according to reporting this month from ProPublica.
Officials at the U.S. Forest Service knew about that risk for years, before it became public knowledge.
In Washington, fire seasons are starting earlier and lasting longer and just last year, western Washington experienced its largest fire in a generation.
Reporter Abe Streep covered all of this for ProPublica, and he talked with KUOW's Paige Browning.
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Paige Browning
Newscaster
Paige hosts midday newscasts and monitors news of significance to the Puget Sound region. She hopped over Washington’s mountains to join KUOW, after hosting news and reporting at Spokane Public Radio since 2011. She began her start in radio while a journalism student at University of Montana, by sharing stories with KUFM. Paige was raised in the mountains and rivers around Spokane. In her spare time she cheers on the Mariners in the summer, and hopes for snow in the winter.
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Gabrielle Healy
Senior Producer, Soundside
Gabrielle is a senior producer for Soundside, covering everything from politics to culture.
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