Jones Act: Kidney cancer claims

How PFAS exposure leads to kidney cancer

PFAS compounds, especially perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), are absorbed by the bloodstream and filtered by the kidneys, where they build up in renal tissue because the body cannot efficiently break them down. Such prolonged internal exposure leads to a cascade of cellular damage: 

• Oxidative stress in renal tubular cells 
• Disruption of growth-regulating cell signaling 
• DNA damage that accumulates over the years of exposure 
• Persistent inflammation that increases mutation risk during cellular regeneration 

A large meta-analysis found an approximately 18% increased risk of kidney cancer overall in PFAS-exposed populations, with risk ratios as high as 1.7 in high-exposure populations. A major pooled analysis combining National Cancer Institute data with C8 community studies found kidney cancer odds increased with higher serum PFOA levels. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies PFOA as possibly carcinogenic to humans based in part on these kidney cancer associations and exposure-response trends.

Maritime workers were exposed to PFAS mainly through AFFF, a firefighting foam widely used in shipboard drills and emergency response. Individual workers were constantly exposed in the enclosed atmosphere of a vessel with little air circulation, causing PFAS to build up in the body over an entire career.