No one harbored any illusions about the results of the analyses. They would inevitably be positive, predicted the firefighters who had come from all over France on May 16, to the Place de la République in Paris to demand better recognition of the hazardous nature of their profession. Starting with the 19 volunteers prepared to have locks of hair sampled to measure their exposure to the highly toxic per- and polyfluoroalkylated substances (PFAS).
The results are "alarming," as revealed at a joint press conference on Tuesday, May 28, by the nine trade unions of the French departmental fire and rescue services (SDIS) and Les Ecologistes (France's Green party), allies in this operation at a time when the draft law aimed at protecting the population from PFAS-related risks, adopted on first reading by the Assemblée Nationale on April 4, reaches the Sénat on May 30.
Of the 20 samples analyzed – the hair of 19 firefighters and that of Marie Toussaint, leading Green candidate in the European elections, who also took part in the test – all were positive for at least one of the 12 "forever chemicals" and 19 for at least two. Three were positive for four pollutants, two for five and one sample even scored six PFAS.
All the firefighters' hair samples also revealed the presence of PFOA, a substance banned since 2019 and classified as a "carcinogen for humans." And more than half showed traces of PFOS, a molecule banned since 2009 and classified as a "possible carcinogen."
The youngest firefighter tested, 23-year-old Florian Dallant, also proved to be one of the most contaminated, with a total of five pollutants identified. "I've only been a firefighter for six years! I knew I was exposed, but seeing the results in black and white takes on a whole new dimension," Dallant explained, shocked. "It makes me think about the risks I'm taking, and it even makes me wonder about the next step in my career."
Arnaud Decosne, a 45-year-old firefighter in Blaye (southwest France), tested positive for three PFAS and couldn't help thinking of his father and grandfather. "They were both firefighters who died of cancer, one at 63, the other at 67. Of course, there's no such thing as inevitability, but if I work out the average, it means I've got 20 years left to live... We put ourselves in danger for people, but once we've finished our career we want to live!"
"I'm seriously wondering whether I should continue to train my SDIS [Departmental Fire and Rescue Service] agents in live fire in a chamber, which exposes me more. I feel I'm at a bit of a turning point in my career," said Laure Moriot, 39, from the Elbeuf fire station in Normandy, who tested positive for three PFASs.
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