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.

Related Links

Firefighters Wore Gear Containing “Forever Chemicals.” The Forest Service Knew and Stayed Silent for Years.

“It Feels Impossible to Stay”: The U.S. Needs Wildland Firefighters More Than Ever, but the Federal Government Is Losing Them

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Fighting wildland fires is dangerous enough. The smoke exposure, changing conditions and mental health risks can be daunting, for even experienced firefighters.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
But federal wildland firefighters across the country were also wearing pants containing potentially dangerous PFAS chemicals, according to reporting this month from ProPublica.&nbsp;
Officials at the U.S. Forest Service knew about that risk for years, before it became public knowledge.&nbsp;
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.
Related Links
<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/forest-service-forever-chemical-firefighter-pfas">Firefighters Wore Gear Containing &ldquo;Forever Chemicals.&rdquo; The Forest Service Knew and Stayed Silent for Years.</a>
<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/wildland-firefighters">&ldquo;It Feels Impossible to Stay&rdquo;: The U.S. Needs Wildland Firefighters More Than Ever, but the Federal Government Is Losing Them</a>
Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to&nbsp;<a href="http://kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes">kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes</a>
Soundside&nbsp;is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Soundside

The Forest Service has known for years that "forever chemicals" were in some of the equipment for wildland firefighters.