Read the full article by Marina Schauffler (Maine Morning Star)
“This article is the second in a series, A Fire Hose of ‘Forever Chemicals,’ which can be seen in entirety here.
In a wooded Ogunquit neighborhood, a narrow side road leads to the Seacoast Training Complex where a tower-like structure perches, soot-stained and stark in an expanse of grass. Firefighters from southern Maine and New Hampshire come to this site to build essential skills, and they leave behind a wake of chemical foam.
For decades, aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF, called ‘A triple-F’) was among the mix of foams applied at this site. Its use in firefighter training was banned three years ago because it contains toxic and persistent per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
At regional centers like this one, departments might experiment with a new foam or train with foam they no longer need, recalled Russell Osgood, Ogunquit’s fire chief. Firefighters would learn techniques for applying foam and often they would leave a blanket of it covering the fire site, he said: ‘That was a common thing so you wouldn’t have any rekindle following live fire training.’
Given the property’s history of AFFF use and the many health risks associated with PFAS, Osgood was concerned about potential water contamination at nearby residences. ‘We have a responsibility as a town if people are being affected by what we do,’ he said.”…