Skip to content
(888) 513-7545 Contact Us
Scientist studying a sample

Information for airport operators

Fire FoamContaminationof Airports

AFFF, PFAS, and the risks associated with historic airport fire-fighting practices.

Download the white paper

Health Effects of PFAS

Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) containing Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) including perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), are a group of man-made chemicals that are an emerging contaminant in soil and groundwater across the country. The negative health outcomes associated with exposure to PFAS include:

  • Hepatic Effects (increased cholesterol, increased liver weight; hypertrophy)
  • Cardiovascular Effects (pregnancy-induced hypertension and pre-eclampsia)
  • Endocrine Effects (thyroid disease); Immune Effects (decreased vaccine response)
  • Respiratory Effects (asthma, COPD, bronchitis)
  • Reproductive Effects (decreased fertility)
  • Skeletal Effects (osteoarthritis)
  • Developmental Effects (decreased birth weight)
  • Carcinogenic Effects (kidney, liver, testicular, prostate, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma)

As a result of these health risks, on May 19, 2016, EPA issued a SDWA lifetime health advisory (LHA) recommending that the individual or combined levels of PFOS and PFOA concentrations in drinking water be below 70 ppt.

AFFF Use at Airports

Airports are required by law to provide aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) services during operation. Airport fire-fighting personnel have historically trained with Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) containing PFOA and/or PFOS, either at the airport itself or an off-site facility. FAA regulations previously mandated the discharge of AFFF in training exercises.

On January 17, 2018, the FAA issued new guidance to assist airports seeking to manage environmental, liability, and community risks associated AFFF. The FAA announced that airport operators could begin using 3 new testing systems for fire-fighting equipment that do not involve dispensing foam.

Unfortunately, still today many airports conduct training on property and discharge AFFF directly onto the ground surface. Many airports also fail to realize the level of involvement in decontaminating fire trucks and hangar suppression systems to get concentrations in rinse water below EPA levels. While current AFFF formulations generally do not contain PFOA and PFOS, many older formulations purchased years ago are still in use due to their long shelf-life.

Even if an airport conducts non-discharge training and utilizes newer formulations of AFFF, decades of training with AFFF’s containing PFOA and PFOS has highly likely resulted in soil and groundwater contamination on and around airport property.