A firefighter from Texas diagnosed with prostate cancer has filed a federal lawsuit against 3M, Dupont, Kidde, and 12 other companies involved in the design, manufacturing, and distribution of aqueous film-forming foam, or AFFF, which he says gave him cancer.

Plaintiff Patrick M. of Rosharon, Texas, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in South Carolina on June 30. In it, he claims regular exposure to AFFF – and the chemical compounds perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl, or PFAS, it contains – during training and firefighting activities throughout his career resulted in him getting cancer.

PFAS Lawsuit Allegations

Patrick’s lawsuit claims the companies produced and distributed the toxic foam knowing it posed a risk to the health of anyone who came in direct contact with it. It also alleges the defendants “through their acts and/or omissions, concealed and/or withheld information from their customers …  and the public that would have properly and fully alerted” McDaniel to the risks of the foam.

The companies named in McDaniel’s lawsuit include 3M, Buckeye Fire Equipment Company, Chemguard Inc., Chemours Company, Chubb Fire, Corteva Inc., DuPont DeNemours, Dynax Corporation, Kidde-Fenwal Inc., National Foam Inc., Tyco Fire Products, United Technologies Corp. and UTS Fire and Security Americas Corp.

Collectively, they are the “designers, marketers, developers, manufacturers, distributors, releasers, instructors, promotors and sellers” of AFFF foam products used by military and civilian firefighters in the U.S., the PFAS lawsuit claims.

Exposure to the foam has been “linked to serious medical conditions including, but not limited to, kidney cancer, testicular cancer, testicular tumors, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, bladder cancer, thyroid disease and infertility,” the lawsuit alleges.

The plaintiff is seeking an unspecified award of damages and a jury trial.

Aqueous Film-Forming Foam Overview

Aqueous film-forming foam is comprised of many chemicals including the PFAS, which are man-made chemical compounds developed in the 1940s to give materials they are added to resistant qualities. They are also used in the production of nonstick cookware, stain-resistant fabrics and water-resistant clothing.

PFAS are also useful in containment and suppressing fires, particularly liquid fires like those involving jet fuel. That’s because, when added to the foam mixture, it creates a dense blanket of coverage that literally smothers the fire, according to Aviation Pros, an aviation industry magazine, and website.

It is so effective that AFFF foam has been relied on for decades, not only by the Federal Aviation Administration, but also the U.S. Department of Defense and airports and military operations around the world.

Evidence has been piling up for years though that PFAS pose health risks.

The U.S. Fire Administration says PFAS can build up in the human body when people are directly exposed to them and the compounds can stay in an exposed person’s system for a long time. “This buildup may have negative health effects like a risk of thyroid disease and testicular, kidney and bladder cancers,” the agency.

A report by The Intercept, an online news publication, also points to evidence AFFF foam has been linked through research to immune system, reproductive and hormonal dysfunction.

This PFAS lawsuit references much of the same evidence in making its argument against the foam manufacturers and sellers.

The PFAS Lawsuit is Patrick M. v. 3M Company, Buckeye Fire Equipment Company, et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-02489-RMG in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina Charleston Division.

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