Maine Officials: Public Drinking Water Safe After AFFF Spill
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The massive AFFF spill at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station should not impact nearby wells, according to information released on Friday by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
The spill, which released around 1,450 gallons of firefighting foam via a malfunctioning fire suppression system, has not impacted the public water supply.
The Maine DEP is taking daily surface water samples and said the Brunswick- Topsham Water District, where the drinking water for that area comes from, has not been affected. The Maine DEP does not believe the recently released foam will impact wells either.
“We understand the concerns expressed by the community given the foam’s visibility,” the department said in its update. “The Maine DEP and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been studying the former Brunswick Naval Air Station for 30 years and are familiar with hydrogeology on the site.”
The Maine CDC did issue an advisory on Friday recommending that people avoid consuming fish from several bodies of water near the former base. The agency said that the testing of fish predates the recent spill and is part of the Navy’s ongoing investigation at the base over forever chemical concerns.
The spill cleanup effort is continuing to look into ways to reduce foam concentrations in retention ponds.
The incident released aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), a substance with links to cancer and other serious health conditions. There are thousands of AFFF lawsuits pending in multidistrict litigation.
Maine Firefighting Foam Spill Caused by Malfunctioning Suppression System
The spill, which occurred on the morning of Aug. 19, resulted from a malfunctioning fire suppression system in hangar 4 at the Brunswick Executive Airport, located on the site of the former Brunswick Naval Air Station that closed in 2011.
The system discharged around 1,450 gallons of the foam that piled up to about 5 feet within the hangar. According to the Associated Press, a firefighter was forced to wade through the foam to manually shut down the wall-mounted cannons.
Firefighting foam has been the subject of significant scrutiny and litigation over its per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are more commonly known as forever chemicals. Studies have linked these chemicals to several types of cancers, among other health conditions.
The potential seriousness of the spill was emphasized by how visible the contamination was. According to the Maine Morning Star, witnesses could see the foam spilling out of the hangar and into the parking lot, with the wind still carrying away pieces hours after the initial discharge.
The Brunswick Naval Air Station has been a priority of the Environmental Protection Agency since the 1980s. Over the years, the Navy has spent over $100 million investigating and cleaning the site.
Risks of PFAS Lead to Increased Emphasis on Regulations
Concerns surrounding PFAS and its potential health impacts have grown in recent years, with states and agencies moving to address the problem.
Earlier this month, Massachusetts passed a bill banning the sale of firefighter equipment containing PFAS within the state by 2027. Connecticut passed a similar law that increased regulation of PFAS in May.
The EPA and Army also announced a pilot project in July to test for PFAS in private wells near several military bases across the country. This came shortly after the EPA announced enforceable limits for several types of PFAS in drinking water in April.
Litigation involving forever chemical exposure has picked up as well, in part due to the significant and widespread exposure of the chemicals.
One such defendant, BASF Corporation, has agreed to a $316.5 million settlement with several public water systems that had identified PFAS in their drinking water. Plaintiffs have filed over 9,500 AFFF-specific lawsuits in a South Carolina MDL.
Editor Lindsay Donaldson contributed to this article.