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Clean up underway at former airbase after firefighting foam containing PFAS was discharged

Melanie Loyzim, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), speaks at a press conference at the Brunswick Executive Airport where firefighting foam containing PFAS materials were accidentally discharged.
Nick Song
/
Maine Public
Melanie Loyzim, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), speaks at a press conference at the Brunswick Executive Airport where firefighting foam containing PFAS materials were accidentally discharged.

Cleanup from Monday's firefighting foam spill at the former Naval Air Base in Brunswick will likely cost millions of dollars.

This comes after 1,600 gallons of the PFAS-containing foam was accidentally released in a hangar of what's now the Brunswick Executive Airport, seeping into the Brunswick sewer system and out to the environment.

The total costs will be billed to the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA), the municipal corporation in charge of the facilities.

Kristine Logan, the Executive Director of MRRA, said the organization is looking into possible funding options.

"We've tapped into the FAA to see if there's any funding there. We've looked at [the] DEP as well as [the] EPA. We've reached out to our delegation partners to see if there's anything at the federal level that might be able to help us with funding," Logan said.

Crews have already removed 6,000 gallons of the firefighting foam after it seeped into the environment through the sewer and water treatment pipes.

During a press conference Wednesday, state environmental officials said they've taken groundwater samples to determine the impact on nearby private drinking wells.

Amy LaChance, the drinking water program manager for the Maine CDC, said Brunswick residents should not worry about their drinking water.

"The CDC is confident that there is no impact from the released material that took place on Monday to the Brunswick Topsham Water District drinking water. There are no restrictions on the drinking water, and the water is safe to drink and use," LaChance said.

The CDC said the public should avoid contact with the foam and should not fish in the waterways near the former Brunswick airbase.

Cleanup crews are working to contain and collect the foam from the waterways. Known as "forever chemicals," PFAS are known to cause serious health effects and are nearly indestructible in nature.

Nick Song is Maine Public's inaugural Emerging Voices Fellowship Reporter.


Originally from Southern California, Nick got his start in radio when he served as the programming director for his high school's radio station. He graduated with a degree in Journalism and History from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University -- where he was Co-News Director for WNUR 89.3 FM, the campus station.