• Posted January 5, 2026

Wipe Test Can Help Protect Firefighters From Cancer-Linked Chemicals

Smoke-soaked firefighter gear can be rife with cancer-linked “forever chemicals,” but an easy test can help protect the health of these first responders.

A simple wipe test detected invisible PFAS chemicals on every set of firefighter gear examined in the study, including breathing masks, researchers reported Jan. 1 in the Journal of Hazardous Materials.

The non-destructive test offers fire departments a practical way to identify and reduce exposure to PFAS chemicals that invade a firefighter’s gear while they battle a blaze, researchers said.

“It’s like smoke that never clears,” said researcher Erin Kobetz, director and principal investigator of the Firefighter Cancer Initiative at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

“These chemicals ride home on gear, settle in firehouses and can end up in the bloodstream,” Kobetz said in a news release.

Cancer is the leading cause of firefighter line-of-duty deaths, researchers said in background notes, and PFAS exposure could play a role in their cancer risk.

PFAS are called “forever chemicals” because they combine carbon and fluorine molecules, one of the strongest chemical bonds possible. This makes PFAS removal and breakdown very difficult, researchers explained in background notes.

PFAS compounds have been used in consumer products since the 1940s, including fire extinguishing foam, nonstick cookware, food wrappers, stain-resistant furniture and waterproof clothing.

For the new study, researchers swabbed high-contact areas of 12 sets of turnout gear and masks with damp polypropylene wipes, then analyzed the wipes.

Every gear set tested carried PFAS, even inside the breathing masks where firefighters expect clean air, researchers found.

Even these trace amounts left on equipment could add up to meaningful exposure across a firefighter’s career, with the chemicals soaking into their skin or inhaled into their lungs, the research team estimated.

“We want PFAS to stay off skin, off gear and out of stations,” researcher Natasha Schaefer Solle, a deputy director and investigator at the Firefighter Cancer Initiative, said in a news release. “A quick wipe test helps crews make smarter choices — before invisible hazards become lifelong burdens.”

Fire stations could employ this test to judge when to clean gear and which items might need deep decontamination before the next call, researchers said.

And because the method doesn’t damage textiles, officials can routinely use the wipes to test turnout gear after multi-alarm fires or incidents where they had to use lots of PFAS-loaded foam against a fire, researchers said.

“Think of it as turning on a blacklight in a dark room,” researcher Dr. Alberto Caban-Martinez, a deputy director and investigator at the Firefighter Cancer Initiative, said in a news release. “Suddenly, you see what’s been hiding all along.”

More information

The Environmental Working Group has more on PFAS chemicals.

SOURCE: University of Miami, news release, Dec. 29, 2025