Air Force To Stop Using PFOS and PFOA in Firefighting Foam

The U.S. Air Force will no longer use the firefighting foam containing chemicals thought to have contaminated the water supply in communities surrounding the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove.

The Air Force made the announcement on August 17 when they awarded a $6.2 million contract to a business that will produce what they have termed an "environmentally responsible" foam.

Officials said that the new chemical, six carbon chain aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), will reduce the risk of contamination in groundwater.

“AFFF is used by civilian and military firefighters to extinguish fires in aircraft accidents and other emergencies where jet fuel and other petroleum-based flammable materials are present,” said James Podolske Jr., the Air Force fire chief, in a statement. “The Phos-Chek foam will replace the current product in use in Air Force fire vehicles.”

While the Air Force said that they would no longer use the contaminants in Willow Grove - perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) - the Department of Defense has not issued a similar statement to apply to all of its other agencies.

Podolske said the new foam was developed under the EPA’s PFC Stewardship Program. The foam is PFOS free, and contains little or no PFOA, according to the Air Force.

"The Air Force must continue to use AFFF in its defense operations to protect people, critical weapon systems and infrastructure, but we will do so in a more environmentally responsible way that also makes our operations safer for the public,” Podolske added.

Contaminated water has led Aqua to shut down several drinking wells in Horsham and nearby communities.

Local lawmakers have been lobbying the federal government to take a more active role in the situation, including the cleanup of the chemicals spilled into local bodies of water and the water supply. Lawmakers and activists also rallied for the federal government to pay for residents to have their blood tested for dangerous levels of the chemicals.

A recent federal study found no evidence of a "cancer cluster" in Warminster, Horsham, and Warrington, despite concerns that a growing number of local residents were being taken ill due to the contamination. The study found that:

• Kidney and liver cancers were within expected ranges for all genders, time periods, and zip codes reviewed.
• Statistically significant increases in cancer incidence were found for bladder, myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and testis for different time periods, genders, and zip codes reviewed.
• Statistically significant decreases in cancer incidence were found for bladder, prostate, and testes for males in different time periods and zip codes reviewed.

Installing the new foam into the Air Force's 800 vehicles will take around 15 months, officials estimate.