The National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety has completed its evaluation of station uniform pants using the fabric FireWear.
This fabric, which is used by many uniform manufacturers, is a blend of cotton and modacrylic fibers that use antimon compounds for fire retarding. Firefighters in Boca Raton, Fla., were found to have high antimony levels in hair samples that were evaluated locally.
NIOSH was requested to provide further scientific and medical assistance to determine if the wearing of these station uniform pants could expose the firefighters to antimony.
NIOSH has released its initial findings and provided a Frequently Asked Questions document that provides details on the results of the evaluation.