Author

Patricia Kime

Patricia Kime

Patricia Kime covers military and veterans issues for KFF News.

Fire-retardant foam was “unintentionally released” in an aircraft hangar at Travis Air Force Base in California on Sept. 24, 2013, says the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. Federal research linking “forever chemicals” to testicular cancer confirms what U.S. military personnel long suspected. But as they seek testing for PFAS exposure, many wonder what to do with the results. There’s no medical treatment yet. (KEN WRIGHT/U.S. AIR FORCE)

‘Like a Russian Roulette’: US Military Firefighters Grapple With Unknowns of PFAS Exposure
By: and - September 8, 2023

A U.S. military firefighter for 32 years, Kurt Rhodes trained and performed his duties with aqueous film forming foam, or AFFF — a highly effective fire suppressant that he never knew contained PFAS chemicals, now known to be harmful to human health. New federal research links testicular cancer in U.S. service members to the “forever […]

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