Fear of PFAS Disposal Costs Looms Over Firefighting Foam Switch

Airports and other places that rely on PFAS-enabled foams to fight fires should start to prepare to manage the wastes they’ll generate by switching to non-PFAS alternatives, attorneys and consultants say.

Congress ordered the Pentagon to release requirements for firefighting foams made without per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) by the end of January.

Once new PFAS-free foams that meet the military’s standards are available, that will open the door to military facilities along with oil refineries, airports, fire departments, and other private entities replacing their existing stocks of the PFAS-based foam, or AFFF (aqueous film-forming foam).

But swapping the PFAS-based ...