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PFOMS: PFAS in Firefighters of Michigan Surveillance
Author: Jessica Morrison, PhD, Senior Laboratory Scientist, Clinical Organic Unit
Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of persistent man-made chemicals that are both oil- and water-resistant and do not easily breakdown in the environment under normal circumstances. The term “PFAS” is instantly recognizable in Michigan these days as an emergent environmental contaminant. PFAS are suspected carcinogens and endocrine disruptors, with other health effects still being studied and discovered. Because of their ability to repel both hydrophilic and hydrophobic compounds, they are commonly found in both industrial and consumer products. PFAS are also commonly used in Class B firefighting foam as well as firefighter protective gear.
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have been tested at the Bureau of Laboratories (BOL) for over 35 years, with PFAS being added to the analyte list in 2011. Due to their environmental persistence, bioaccumulation has been of concern, as PFAS have been shown to build up in blood and organs. On the relative forefront of clinical PFAS analysis, the Clinical Chemistry section (CCS) of the BOL has developed their own high-throughput extraction and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry methods for analysis of 42 PFAS compounds in water, serum, and dried blood spots at low part-per-trillion levels.
In 2019, the CCS in collaboration with the Division of Environmental Health (DEH) was awarded a State-wide Biomonitoring Grant by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). One of the projects funded by the CDC Biomonitoring Grant is targeted at measuring occupational exposure of firefighters in Michigan to PFAS through the foams they use to put out fires, or the protective clothing they don to keep themselves safe. The project is called PFOMS (pronounced “p-foams”), or PFAS in Firefighters of Michigan Surveillance. The project is a public health surveillance project that will be used to guide public policy and health education.
Fire stations were recruited to participate from locations across the state spanning small town fire stations to big city fire departments to airport fire stations. Each participating fire station had all firefighters (career and volunteer) invited to give a sample of their blood for PFAS serum analysis by the CCS. In addition, all participating fire stations were able to have their drinking water tested for PFAS to eliminate the fire station as a source of PFAS exposure. DEH staff thoroughly interviewed firefighters as to understand PFAS exposure from a firefighter’s life as well as firefighting foam and materials used at the fire station. At each participating fire station, DEH and CCS staff opened up pop-up clinics at the fire stations to be able to take blood samples from each interested firefighter. At the conclusion of the study, each firefighter will receive a report with their personal PFAS blood results, the results of the PFAS drinking water testing from their fire station, and the overall results of the PFOMS project.
PFOMS had an original goal of 600 firefighter samples, but that goal was increased to 900 following strong interest. The project wrapped up recruitment and clinics this year with 1020 total firefighter participants. All blood samples received by the CCS have been analyzed and DEH is completing data review and report writing.
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Hometown Health Hero Awards – Nominations Open
The Michigan Public Health Week Partnership invites nominations for the Hometown Health Hero award. The award is presented every year to individuals and/or organizations that have made significant and measurable contributions to preserve and/or improve the health of their community.
The 2024 award event marks the 20th anniversary of these awards and the Partnership that sponsors them. Over the last twenty years, community leaders, organizations, and individuals have been doing great things to improve the health of their communities and to increase equity in health. Awardees are selected solely from nominations received. The only way for someone to receive this award is to be nominated.
Submit a completed nomination form to the Partnership by email (or fax to 517-335-8392) no later than 5:00 p.m. on Jan. 31. Awardees are selected solely from nominations received by the deadline.
Awards will be presented on April 10 at 11:30 a.m. in the Atrium of Heritage Hall in the State Capitol Building. The event is open to the public.
Face-to-Face Partner Meeting - Save the Date!
The Division of Emergency Preparedness and Response (DEPR) will host a joint meeting with local health departments, regional healthcare coalitions, and tribal health partners at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel on May 6 and May 7.
To get a better idea on the topics our partners would like to see covered during the joint meeting, Local Health Department (LHD) Emergency Preparedness Coordinators (EPCs) and tribal health partners are encouraged to complete a brief survey related to the upcoming face-to-face meetings in May. The survey will close on Jan. 31. Your opinion matters: make your desires known and complete the survey.
State of Michigan celebrates Black History Month in February
The State of Michigan is hosting virtual events in February as part of a celebration of Black History Month.
The first event, open to the public, will be 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. on Feb. 14, and will celebrate and honor Black persons with disabilities, now and throughout history. The event is being hosted by the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.
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FEMA offers exercise support through the National Exercise Program
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Exercise Program (NEP) is now accepting requests for exercise support. The NEP offers no-cost assistance to state, local, tribal and territorial (SLTT) jurisdictions for exercise design, development, execution and evaluation to validate capabilities across all mission areas. To be considered for the 2024 round of the NEP, applications must be submitted by March 1. Applications are open to all state, local, tribal and territorial governments. Instructions on how to submit a request for support are provided on FEMA’s National Exercise Program website.
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2024 Ready Preparedness Calendar
Did you know the Ready Preparedness Calendar is a planning tool that marks preparedness activities and provides customizable resources to help promote preparedness throughout the year. Please feel free to adapt the materials to hazards that can impact your local area.
Social media toolkits are available for many weather and climate events such as extreme heat, floods, hurricanes, wildfires and more.
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Webinar Series: Inclusive Public Health Preparedness Planning
Join NACCHO, in partnership with World Institute on Disability (WID), in this three-part, webinar series focusing on implementing inclusive preparedness and response planning and optimizing equitable opportunities for people with disabilities. The series will also provide tactics for implementing recommended practices and address challenges expressed by local health departments.
Webinar one: Disabilities and Access and Functional Needs - Similarities and Differences Impacting Public Health Disaster Planning will provide an in depth look at the similarities and differences between people with disabilities, and other community demographics on the impact of public health disaster planning.
Jan. 30 at 2:00 p.m.
Webinar two: Disability Culturally Competent Public Health Emergency Planning: Achieving your Goals with Non-Existent Resources will focus on the foundations of disability cultural competency, identifying what it means to create programs and services that are physically and programmatically accessible and implement effective communication to optimize equitable opportunities for people with disabilities.
Feb. 13 at 2:00 p.m.
Webinar three: Public Health Emergency Preparedness Capabilities: Achieving a Disability Inclusive Application will review available guidance on disability accessibility and inclusion principles and identify strategies to implementing these principles within the delivery of the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Capabilities.
Feb. 27 at 2:00 p.m.
NACCHO 360 Conference
Annually, NACCHO360 is the largest convening of local health department leaders and public health professionals in the United States, offering the opportunity to learn, network, and share experiences and best practices across local health departments. In 2024, the public health community will gather in Detroit, Michigan, July 23-26, to explore our conference theme, "Heard it Through the Grapevine: Public Health Partnerships, Collaboration, and Innovation.”
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The Guardian of Public Health is a monthly newsletter from the Bureau of Emergency Preparedness, EMS and Systems of Care (BEPESoC), within the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). The Guardian aims to provide readers with relevant content on topics that affect the public health of Michigan's citizens and communities.
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This publication was supported by Cooperative Agreement number 1NU90TP922062-01-00, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Department of Health and Human Services.
Bureau of Emergency Preparedness, EMS and Systems of Care | 1001 Terminal Rd, Lansing, MI 48906 | 517-335-8150
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