Cancer is Not Part of the Job - a PSI Position on "Forever Chemicals"

On 26 January, PSI led a delegation of affiliates in a live consultation convened by the ITUC with the UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights Dr. Marcos Orellana, focusing on the adverse health impacts of PFAS—also known as “forever chemicals”—on public service workers. The PSI delegation was composed of representatives from the FNV Overheid, the PSI Secretariat, and  EPSU, and joined other trade union representatives from the ITUC, TUAC, ETUI, IUF, BWI, the Canadian Union Congress and the FO France trade union confederation. Anna Stec, University of Central Lancashire (UK) provided scientific and technical expertise as part of the PSI delegation. 

Earlier this month, on 9 January, PSI filed a written contribution on PFAS and public service workers in response to the Call for Input on PFAS and human rights. The submission was developed with contributions from Kommunal (Sweden), AGOEC (Argentina), FNV Overheid (the Netherlands), FP-CGIL (Italy), CFDT Interco and  CGT SP (France), and AFSCME (USA) following a call for contributions to the PSI OSH Network and the PSI Firefighters’ Network. 

During the consultation, the PSI delegation highlighted key concerns and advocacy priorities related to PFAS and their impacts on human rights.

Michel Buitenhuis, Lead negotiator in the Waste and Recycling Management Services Section and  Chair OSH Working Group of the FNV Overheid (the Netherlands) said: “Despite the substantial lack of sector-specific data on occupational PFAS exposure in the waste and recycling sector, the widespread use of PFAS in countless products inevitably results in structural contamination of waste streams. Workers are therefore exposed to complex and often unknown mixtures of PFAS, with exposure pathways such as inhalation, particle-bound exposure (dust and aerosols), and dermal absorption remaining poorly understood and representing a major risk factor. While these products are generally designed for safe use during their service life, what happens after their use phase remains largely unaddressed. The adverse health impacts of PFAS on waste and recycling workers cannot be considered in isolation, but must be understood in terms of the arising from combined exposure to multiple chemicals. Moreover, a genuinely safe “circular economy” must ensure that recycling and recovery processes result in the effective removal or safe destruction of PFAS and other substances of concern, rather than their recirculation in the environment or the creation of new forms of occupational or environmental exposure”. 

Daria Cibrario, PSI Senior Policy Officer said: “While many public service workers save lives every day on the job, they should not be expected to do so at the cost of their own. Yet, the current gaps in PFAS regulation and effective occupational protection means that many are forced to accept that caching cancer may going to be “part of the job”. This situation is unacceptable, socially unjust and constitutes a violation of fundamental human and labour rights: it must be urgently challenged. Moreover, whenever workers are denied fundamental human and union rights – such as of freedom of association ad collective bargaining, as in the case of Japanese firefighters - their occupational exposure to PFAS and the consequent adverse health impacts are exacerbated. Similarly, when governments fail to invest in adequate infrastructure, safe staffing levels and PPE, and in decent working conditions, workers in services such as waste, sanitation and healthcare face increased risks. PSI’s submission makes actionable policy recommendations to address these failures”.

Anna A. Stec, Professor in Fire Chemistry and Toxicity at the Centre for Fire and Hazards Sciences at the University of Central Lancashire (UK) said: “Growing scientific evidence shows that PFAS pose systemic and long-term risks to both people and the environment. Phasing out individual PFAS on a substance-by-substance basis is insufficient to mitigate these cumulative and persistent risks. Firefighters, along with workers in waste management, landfill, and recycling sectors, are among the highest-risk occupational groups, experiencing dermal, inhalation, and hand-to-mouth exposure from sources such as aqueous film-forming foams, PFAS-treated turnout gear and contaminated workplaces. Developing and implementing health-based PFAS biomonitoring guidance values into regulatory and clinical frameworks is therefore essential. Biomonitoring can serve as an early-warning tool, with thresholds informing occupational and public health decisions, while workplace-specific exposure monitoring strengthens risk assessment and protective measures”.

Pablo Sanchez Centellas, EPSU Policy Officer said: “PFAS pose serious risks to human health. Workers, citizens, service users and consumers alike increasingly recognise that we are in the midst of a public health crisis, and urgent, decisive action is required. Scientific evidence shows we must identify and deploy safe, preferably natural, alternatives wherever possible, alongside robust rules and regulations to protect public health and the environment. Leaving substitution to industry-led self-regulation would only delay action for decades. We owe decisive action now to future generations—and to the planet”.

This process is part of a the UN Special Procedures system of the Human Rights Council. The final report on PFAS and Human Rights will be presented at the UN Human Rights Council during its June or September 2026 session.

What are PFAS?

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are characterised by carbon–fluorine bonds that do not occur naturally and are not biodegradable, resulting in extreme environmental and biological resilience. Once absorbed, these substances accumulate in the human body and are eliminated only very slowly, meaning that exposed workers may carry a significant PFAS-related health burden for decades. Recent epidemiological studies have established correlations between high levels of exposure to certain PFAS and a wide range of adverse health outcomes, including liver, pancreatic, thyroid, and immune system dysfunction; reduced fertility; hormonal disruption; immunotoxicity; low birth weight; elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and total cholesterol levels; and increased risks of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma as well as kidney, testicular, and prostate cancers, among others. Long-chain PFAS, such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), have been particularly associated with elevated cancer risk.

Why is occupational exposure to PFAS an issue for public service workers?

Virtually all public service professions are at risk of occupational PFAS exposure. The PSI submission focussed on the occupational health and fundamental human four public service sectors that are known to face high risk of occupational exposure, notably:

• Firefighters, first responders, civil protection and other public emergency workers;

• Waste collection, sorting, management, recycling and disposal workers;

• Water, sanitation (wastewater, water treatment) and electric utilities workers;

• Medical practitioners, nurses, midwives, health technicians, health workers, assistants and attendants, hospital janitors, social services and social care workers.

This sample is not exhaustive: numerous other public service professions are exposed and at risk of PFAS contamination.  

What can PSI affiliates do about PFAS?

Trade unions have a historic mission and mandate to protect workers’ health. This extends to the duty to safeguard workers’ and labour rights in relation to occupational exposure to PFAS.

Specific urgent measures trade unions can take include:

• Demand that employers and governments take adequate, effective measures to minimise workers’ occupational exposure to PFAS in line with the hierarchy of control, the precautionary principle and with relevant ILO standards to avoid primary, secondary occupational exposure and minimize environmental exposure for workers;

• Ensure access to safe, PFAS-free, gender-adapted personal protective equipment (PPE), protective gear, and work tools for workers in sectors at known and/or highly suspected risk of PFAS exposure.

• Establish a right to information for workers regarding the chemical composition of PPE, work equipment, and materials used in the workplace, including firefighting foams.

• Include PFAS-related OSH provisions in collective agreements and develop early preventive workplace protocols to address emerging hazardous chemicals.

• Mandate and strengthen joint workplace OSH committees with the capacity to address PFAS risks, including monitoring and whistle-blower protection functions.

• Ensure comprehensive training on PFAS for workers, trade union representatives, employers, and labour and OSH inspectors.

To learn more read the full text of the PSI Position on Forever Chemicals (PFAS) and Public Service Workers available online below and as a PDF for download.