Read the full article by Jeannette Hinkle (Cape Cod Times)
“Sometime in the late 1950s or early 1960s, firefighters from departments across Cape Cod started using a firefighting foam laden with PFAS as they trained at the county-owned fire academy in Hyannis.
For much of that time, the dangers of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, were unknown to firefighters spraying the foam, made to extinguish especially intense fires.
PFAS — manmade chemicals designed to be non-stick, waterproof, and stain and flame-resistant — have since been linked to health problems, including cancers, immunotoxicity in children, thyroid disease, and reproductive problems. They’re often called ‘forever chemicals’ because they accumulate over time in people, animals and the environment — and don’t break down easily.
Over roughly five decades, the foam soaked into the ground at the academy as well as at the nearby Cape Cod Gateway Airport, which also used the foam for years to extinguish fires.” …