Guaranteeing Equipment Safety for Firefighters Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7560 To require the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology to conduct a study of personal protective equipment worn by firefighters to determine the prevalence and concentration of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 9, 2020 Mr. PERLMUTTER (for himself and Mr. POSEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology A BILL To require the Director of the National Institute of Stand- ards and Technology to conduct a study of personal protective equipment worn by firefighters to determine the prevalence and concentration of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Guaranteeing Equip- 4 ment Safety for Firefighters Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:34 Aug 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7560.IH H7560 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7560 IH SEC. 2. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECH- 1 NOLOGY STUDY ON PER- AND 2 POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES IN PER- 3 SONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT WORN BY 4 FIREFIGHTERS. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Na- 7 tional Institute of Standards and Technology shall, in con- 8 sultation with the Director of the National Institute for 9 Occupational Safety and Health, complete a study of the 10 contents and composition of new and unused personal pro- 11 tective equipment worn by firefighters. 12 (b) CONTENTS OF STUDY.—In carrying out the study 13 required by subsection (a), the Director of the National 14 Institute of Standards and Technology shall examine— 15 (1) the identity, prevalence, and concentration 16 of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (commonly 17 known as ‘‘PFAS’’) in the personal protective equip- 18 ment worn by firefighters; 19 (2) the conditions and extent to which per- and 20 polyfluoroalkyl substances are released into the envi- 21 ronment over time from the degradation of personal 22 protective equipment from normal use by fire- 23 fighters; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:34 Aug 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7560.IH H7560 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7560 IH (3) the relative risk of exposure to per- and 1 polyfluoroalkyl substances faced by firefighters 2 from— 3 (A) their use of personal protective equip- 4 ment; and 5 (B) degradation of personal protective 6 equipment from normal use by firefighters. 7 (c) REPORTS.— 8 (1) PROGRESS REPORTS.—Not less frequently 9 than once each year for the duration of the study 10 conducted under subsection (a), the Director shall 11 submit to Congress a report on the progress of the 12 Director in conducting such study. 13 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days 14 after the date on which the Director completes the 15 study required by subsection (a), the Director shall 16 submit to Congress a report describing— 17 (A) the findings of the Director with re- 18 spect to the study; and 19 (B) recommendations on what additional 20 research or technical improvements to personal 21 protective equipment materials or components 22 should be pursued to avoid unnecessary occupa- 23 tional exposure among firefighters to per- and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:34 Aug 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7560.IH H7560 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7560 IH polyfluoroalkyl substances through personal 1 protective equipment. 2 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 4 appropriated to the Director $2,500,000 for fiscal 5 year 2021 and $2,500,000 for fiscal year 2022. 6 (2) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds 7 made available to carry out this section shall supple- 8 ment and not supplant funds made available to the 9 Director for other purposes. 10 SEC. 3. RESEARCH ON PER- AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUB- 11 STANCES IN PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIP- 12 MENT WORN BY FIREFIGHTERS. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 14 date of the submittal of the report required by section 15 2(c)(2), the Director of the National Institute of Stand- 16 ards and Technology shall— 17 (1) issue a solicitation for research proposals to 18 carry out the research recommendations identified in 19 the report submitted under section 2(c); and 20 (2) award grants to applicants that submit re- 21 search proposals to develop safe alternatives to per- 22 and polyfluoroalkyl substances in personal protective 23 equipment. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:34 Aug 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7560.IH H7560 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7560 IH (b) CRITERIA.—The Director shall select research 1 proposals to receive a grant under subsection (a) on the 2 basis of merit, using criteria identified by the Director, 3 including the likelihood that the research results will ad- 4 dress the findings of the Director with respect to the study 5 conducted under section 2(a). 6 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Any entity or group of 2 7 or more entities may submit to the Director a research 8 proposal in response to the solicitation for research pro- 9 posals under subsection (a), including— 10 (1) State and local agencies; 11 (2) public institutions, including public institu- 12 tions of higher education; 13 (3) private corporations; and 14 (4) nonprofit organizations. 15 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 17 appropriated to the Director $5,000,000 for fiscal 18 year 2023, $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2024, and 19 $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2025 to carry out this 20 section. 21 (2) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds 22 made available to carry out this section shall supple- 23 ment and not supplant funds made available to the 24 Director for other purposes. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:34 Aug 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7560.IH H7560 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7560 IH SEC. 4. AUTHORITY FOR DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL IN- 1 STITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY 2 TO CONSULT WITH EXPERTS ON MATTERS 3 RELATING TO PER- AND POLYFLUOROALKYL 4 SUBSTANCES. 5 In carrying out this Act, the Director of the National 6 Institute of Standards and Technology may consult with 7 Federal agencies, nongovernmental organizations, State 8 and local governments, and science and research institu- 9 tions determined by the Director to have scientific or ma- 10 terial interest in reducing unnecessary occupational expo- 11 sure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances by firefighters. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:34 Aug 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7560.IH H7560 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS