The industry is reforming as a result of a Worcester firefighter's wife's campaigning against PFAs

Diane Cotter is at the top of the list of women to be reckoned with. Diane, the proud wife of a long-serving Worcester fireman, had a peaceful existence until her husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014.

Diane questioned her husband's diagnosis. Paul was diagnosed with prostate cancer despite having no male relatives with the disease. And it wasn't just Paul; a slew of other firemen in their group were also dying - not in a blaze of glory, but from cancer's devastating consequences.

Diane drew her husband's uniform trousers from his "bunker gear" box in the cellar late one night, determined to discover an explanation.

She found many dime-sized holes at the crotch of the work trousers originally worn by the love of her life, who won her heart with a smile from his Cadillac during a "chance encounter" at a Mill Street stoplight in 1977.

Diane went online to see if the holes had anything to do with her husband's health.

That's where she learned that the lining of firefighting equipment may cause cancer.

She started reaching out after that.

She emailed Erin Brokovich, a former legal clerk who rose to prominence after successfully prosecuting Pacific Gas & Electric Company, which had been poisoning Hinkley, California's water for decades.

Brockovich inquired about the presence of PFAS, or polyfluoroalkyl compounds, in the gear.

PFAS are the chemicals that were employed by DuPont to create non-stick Teflon pans in 1946.

PFAS have now been identified as carcinogenic.

She then turned to the scientific community, which led her to Dr. Graham Peaslee, a PFAS specialist and associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Notre Dame. She then sought out to the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) to see what they knew.