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Boston's Morning Newsletter
Massachusetts moves to phase out PFAS from firefighter gear
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TGIF! Before you jump into the weekend like these P-town dolphins, let’s get to the news:
Extinguishing PFAS: Massachusetts is officially moving to phase out PFAS from firefighting gear. Gov. Maura Healey signed a bill yesterday that will ban the sale of any firefighting jackets, pants, shoes, gloves and helmets that contain the cancer-linked chemicals, beginning in 2027. Rich Mackinnon, the president of the Professional Firefighters Association of Massachusetts, says it’s the strongest law of its kind in the country. “This next generation of firefighters will save lives,” Mackinnon said during a press conference. “Their lives will be saved. Their families will not have to go through the diagnosis, treatment, and unfortunate death of cancer that many of them have already faced in the fire service and are facing today.”
- Why is PFAS in firefighting gear in the first place? The chemicals are good at making surfaces repel water, oil and grease — which had made them a popular choice for protective clothing. (Not only firefighting gear, but also certain rain jackets and leggings.)
- How does the new law work? Starting Jan. 1, 2025, anyone selling firefighting gear in Massachusetts will be required to provide a written notice if their product contains PFAS. Then in 2027, the law ratchets up to a total ban on selling or distributing firefighting gear with “intentionally added PFAS.”
- By the numbers: According to the International Association of Firefighters, cancer accounted for nearly two thirds of firefighter deaths between 2002 and 2019. (Though firefighters are exposed to many carcinogens as part of the job, advocates say PFAS are an oft-overlooked and unnecessary risk.)
- Go deeper: The PFAS bill’s history at the State House dates back to early 2023. Read more here about the people behind it.
Meanwhile on Beacon Hill: The State House had a sneaky productive day yesterday. During a lightly attended informal session, lawmakers also passed a bill aimed at expanding services for pregnant people, while addressing racial inequities in maternal health.
- The maternal health bill was one of many items legislators left unfinished at the end of formal sessions, but House and Senate negotiators kept working on a compromise over the past two weeks. (Apparently, there wasn’t much the two sides actually disagreed on.) The bill now heads to Healey’s desk.
- What does it do? The bill includes a number of changes to make it easier to access midwives, doulas and postpartum depression screenings. It removes barriers to opening low-risk birthing centers. And it requires MassHealth to cover doula services for pregnant people and parents until their infants turn 1 year old.
Emerson College is laying off 10 staff members and suspending two programs due to a budget shortfall from a decline in enrollment. College officials said their Bright Lights Cinema Series and Engagement Lab are not returning in the upcoming semester.
- Earlier this summer, Emerson President Jay Bernhardt partially blamed the enrollment decline on negative publicity from pro-Palestinian demonstrations on its campus last spring. More than 100 students were arrested, when police forcibly broke up one large encampment. Bernhardt also said other factors — like national trends and a FAFSA rollout delay — played a role.
New in town: After four years, Somerville has a new police chief. The city chose Shumeane Benford to lead the department. Benford currently serves in two roles for the City of Boston: chief of the Boston Housing Authority’s Police Department and chief of Emergency Management. Officials say Benford is a lifelong Bostonian, but did have a “brief residency in Somerville.” He starts work on Sept. 16.
- Somerville’s last permanent police chief retired in 2020, kicking off a slightly bumpy national search that included Mayor Katjana Ballantyne rejecting a previous finalist for the job.
Heads up: The MBTA is shutting down the Orange Line all the way between Wellington and Back Bay this weekend for signal work.
- You know the drill: Your alternative options are shuttle buses between Wellington and North Station, and the Green Line from there to Back Bay. The Haverhill commuter rail line will also be free from North Station to Oak Grove.
- Psst: The T is also closing the middle of the Red Line — from Kendall/MIT to JFK/UMass — for a full week, starting Monday.
P.S.— What’s missing from a popular Allston bar? Take our Boston News Quiz and test your knowledge of this week’s stories.
