U.S. Forest Service Stops Issuing Firefighter Pants That Contain PFAS, Following ProPublica’s Reporting

ProPublicaCenter-LeftEN 4 min read 100% complete by Abe StreepFebruary 23, 2026 at 11:00 AM

AI Summary

long article 4 min

Following a ProPublica report, the U.S. Forest Service has stopped distributing firefighter pants containing PFAS, or "forever chemicals," which were used to repel gasoline and water. The agency will also instruct manufacturers to avoid PFAS in future gear. The report revealed that the Forest Service knew about the PFAS in the pants, supplied by TenCate, but did not inform firefighters. This decision follows growing concerns about the health risks associated with PFAS, which have prompted lawsuits from firefighters in other departments. While the Forest Service initially hesitated to provide guidance, they have now removed the pants from stock and stated they are working to improve firefighter health protections, citing the complexity of PFAS use in protective gear.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

National Interagency Support Caches 40% Washington Office Cache Management 50% TenCate ×270% ProPublica ×480% U.S. Forest Service ×690%

Keywords

pfas 80% wildland firefighting 70% forever chemicals 60% protection gear 50% water repellent fabric treatments 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.30

Source Transparency

Source

ProPublica

Political Lean

Center-Left (-0.40)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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pfas wildland firefighting forever chemicals protection gear water repellent fabric treatments

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