Evidence of formaldehyde has been found in the protective gear worn by Victoria’s emergency services workers.

In a study of seven garments, the CSIRO found low levels of the cancer-causing compound in clothing treated by Proban, a chemical additive used to make protective clothing fire retardant.

Proban is currently used in clothing worn by the firefighters, the State Emergency Service (SES) and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), according to Emergency Management Victoria (EMV).

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The results were reported by the Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Authorities Council (AFAC).

“What they’ve actually shown is that the ensemble – which is the gear that our firefighters wear for bushfires – have some residual risk of carrying some chemicals,” Victoria’s Emergency Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley said.

Mr Lapsley said the report did not describe the CSIRO findings as a critical safety issue, but that an alert had been issued as a precautionary measure.

“Nothing in the report has brought to our attention to say that we have a significant issue to deal with,” he said.

“But we’ve acted very quickly to ensure that the information has been relayed to our firefighters through a safety alert.

“And that safety alert tells our firefighters what to do in the maintenance of their safety clothing.”

Firefighters issued safety guidelines

Precautionary safety guidelines have been released to all firefighters about the appropriate way to store their gear.

Mr Lapsley said the most important thing was for the protective clothing to be naturally aired of smoke and other things it had been exposed to.

“What the report shows is with these protective clothing – the pants and a coat – are actually stored, packed away in a plastic bag, stored in a confined space, that’s when some of these toxics can build up.

“That’s the critical thing to make sure firefighters are putting them in an appropriate place to have them vent properly, to have air move around them.”

The AFAC report noted that “Proban-treated cotton has been used in Australia for more than 30 years without any significant issues being identified”.

Mr Lapsley said that emergency services would work closely with AFAC and CSIRO as more research was undertaken into the issue.