II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 231 

To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

to develop guidance for firefighters and other emergency response personnel on best practices to protect them from exposure to PFAS and 

to limit and prevent the release of PFAS into the environment, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 4, 2021 

Mr. PETERS (for himself, Mr. SULLIVAN, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. CARPER, Ms. MURKOWSKI, and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to develop guidance for firefighters and 

other emergency response personnel on best practices 

to protect them from exposure to PFAS and to limit 

and prevent the release of PFAS into the environment, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Firefighters 

5 from Adverse Substances Act’’ or the ‘‘PFAS Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. GUIDANCE ON HOW TO PREVENT EXPOSURE TO 

2 AND RELEASE OF PFAS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

4 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 

5 Federal Emergency Management Agency, in consultation 

6 with the Administrator of the United States Fire Adminis7 tration, the Administrator of the Environmental Protec8 tion Agency, the Director of the National Institute for Oc9 cupational Safety and Health, and the heads of any other 

10 relevant agencies, shall— 

11 (1) develop and publish guidance for firefighters 

12 and other emergency response personnel on training, 

13 education programs, and best practices to— 

14 (A) reduce the exposure to per- and 

15 polyfluoroalkyl substances (commonly referred 

16 to as ‘‘PFAS’’) from firefighting foam and per17 sonal protective equipment; and 

18 (B) limit or prevent the release of PFAS 

19 from firefighting foam into the environment; 

20 (2) develop and issue guidance to firefighters 

21 and other emergency response personnel on alter22 native foams, personal protective equipment, and 

23 other firefighting tools and equipment that do not 

24 contain PFAS; and 

25 (3) create an online public repository, which 

26 shall be updated on a regular basis, on tools and 


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1 best practices for firefighters and other emergency 

2 response personnel to reduce, limit, and prevent the 

3 release of and exposure to PFAS. 

4 (b) REQUIRED CONSULTATION.—In developing the 

5 guidance required under subsection (a), the Administrator 

6 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall con7 sult with appropriate interested entities, including— 

8 (1) firefighters and other emergency response 

9 personnel, including national fire service and emer10 gency response organizations; 

11 (2) impacted communities dealing with PFAS 

12 contamination; 

13 (3) scientists, including public and occupational 

14 health and safety experts, who are studying PFAS 

15 and PFAS alternatives in firefighting foam; 

16 (4) voluntary standards organizations engaged 

17 in developing standards for firefighter and fire18 fighting equipment; 

19 (5) State fire training academies; 

20 (6) State fire marshals; 

21 (7) manufacturers of firefighting tools and 

22 equipment; and 

23 (8) any other relevant entities, as determined 

24 by the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 


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1 Management Agency and the Administrator of the 

2 United States Fire Administration. 

3 (c) REVIEW OF GUIDANCE.—Not later than 3 years 

4 after the date on which the guidance required under sub5 section (a) is issued, and not less frequently than once 

6 every 2 years thereafter, the Administrator of the Federal 

7 Emergency Management Agency, in consultation with the 

8 Administrator of the United States Fire Administration, 

9 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agen10 cy, and the Director of the National Institute for Occupa11 tional Safety and Health, shall review the guidance and, 

12 as appropriate, issue updates to the guidance. 

13 (d) APPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Federal Advi14 sory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to 

15 this Act. 

Æ 


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