Toxic firefighting foam is being removed from Bangor airport

Toxic foam at the Bangor International Airport will be replaced Wednesday with a version that doesn’t contain harmful chemicals.

The new foam arrived at the Maine Air National Guard Base at the Bangor airport last week, about one month before the U.S. military’s deadline to remove foam with the so-called forever chemicals from airports, under the National Defense Authorization Act of 2020.

The new foam solution will be added to all the fire trucks at the Bangor Airport Fire Station, which can address emergencies at the Maine Air National Guard Base and the Bangor International Airport.

PFAS — short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — are artificial chemicals that have been linked to numerous health problems and birth defects. The chemicals break down very slowly and are commonly found in everyday items, from food packaging to personal care products, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Fire departments use Aqueous Film Forming Foam, which contains PFAS, to quickly smother fires from flammable liquids, such as fuel. The new foam, which doesn’t contain forever chemicals, is called Fluorine-Free Foam.

The swap will happen two weeks after more than 1,400 gallons of firefighting foam containing PFAS was accidentally discharged at the former Brunswick naval air station on Aug. 19, causing millions of dollars in environmental damage.

The National Guard Bureau will hire a waste management company or agency to package the outgoing foam and move it off-site so it can be disposed of by the appropriate authorities, according to CPT Nick Erickson, state public affairs officer for the Maine National Guard.

To prevent foam spills similar to what Brunswick saw, Erickson said the Fire and Emergency Services team performs weekly water flow tests to ensure firefighting systems are leak-free. Additionally, annual foam tests don’t require any foam to be discharged.

The Air National Guard Base in Bangor — home to the 101st Air Refueling Wing — doesn’t discharge foam during training or simulations, which drastically reduces the chances for spills, Erickson said. The site also uses different types of fire suppression systems than those at the Brunswick Executive Airport.

In August 2022 , however, the U.S. Air Force published a report stating decades of toxic firefighting foam being discharged at the Maine Air National Guard’s base at Bangor International Airport could contaminate area water supplies. This is because the chemicals from the foam can seep into the groundwater and spread beyond the property.

While the Bangor Air National Guard Base is swapping out its firefighting foam this week, the foam the Bangor Fire Department keeps on hand is already PFAS-free, according to David Warren, a spokesperson for the city. The city’s fire department made the switch to foam free of forever chemicals a few years ago.