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Holcomb signs bill to test Indiana firefighters for cancer-causing chemical

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb Monday does a ceremonial signing of a bill to start testing Indiana firefighters for PFAS, a cancer-causing chemical found in firefighters' gear. To his left is the bill's author, State Rep. Maureen Bauer, D-South Bend.
Provided by Rep. Maureen Bauer's office
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb Monday does a ceremonial signing of a bill to start testing Indiana firefighters for PFAS, a cancer-causing chemical found in firefighters' gear. To his left is the bill's author, State Rep. Maureen Bauer, D-South Bend.

Efforts to determine whether a cancer-causing chemical found in firefighter gear is killing Indiana firefighters took center stage Monday in Gov. Eric Holcomb’s office.

Holcomb staged a ceremonial signing of a bill authored by South Bend State Rep. Maureen Bauer to start testing firefighters’ blood for the chemical, per- and polyfluorinated substances, known as PFAS.

Included in the photo of the signing were members of the families of Josh Comeau and Mike Brown, South Bend firefighters who died from cancer. There is no evidence their cancers were caused by PFAS, but it was certainly a possibility, Bauer says.

“We’re still learning more about PFAS and we are led to believe that it is causing a lot of these health concerns among the fire service,” Bauer says. “We don’t know if there’s elevated levels because there is no testing being done. But this will perhaps draw a link between these cancer diagnoses and elevated levels of PFAS exposure.”

It was the third straight year Bauer had introduced the bill. The first two years it failed to get a hearing.

Bauer says she was disappointed the bill only contains $200,000 in state funding, which is only enough to test about 500 firefighters once the law takes effect July 1. The bill relies on the Indiana Department of Homeland Security to seek federal grants to test another 500 firefighters.

Despite the need to do more fund-raising, Bauer says she was very happy to get the bill passed and signed into law.

Parrott, a longtime public radio fan, comes to WVPE with about 25 years of journalism experience at newspapers in Indiana and Michigan, including 13 years at The South Bend Tribune. He and Kristi live in Granger and have two children currently attending Indiana University in Bloomington. In his free time he enjoys fixing up their home, following his favorite college and professional sports teams, and watching TV (yes that's an acceptable hobby).