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NJ removing cancer-linked fire foam

Union says effort will reduce risk from 'forever chemicals'

By: Scott Fallon
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... New Jersey has begun to collect and destroy foams used to fight fires that contain a chemical linked to cancer. It's an effort to protect first responders and the people they are helping, officials said.
..... The state has opened two drop-off sites where firefighters can turn in an estimated 150,000 gallons of firefighting foam containing PFAS. The material is used by more than 400 departments around New Jersey, officials at the state Department of Environmental Protection said on Friday March 20. [2026]
..... The two regional sites have been collecting firefighting foams throughout March [2026] in what the DEP says is one of the largest efforts of its kind in the nation.
..... The $16.6 million program was authorized under a 2024 law that bans the sue of foams with PFAS after January 1, 2027.
..... Eddie Donnelly, president of one of the largest firefighters' unions in the state, said his members face exposure to the foams at much greater levels than members of the public.
..... "Remediation efforts being conducted will protect our firefighters and hazmat technicians form continued risks from these forever chemicals," said Donnelly, of the New Jersey Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association. "Cancer in the fire service is our number one killer."
..... PFAS - perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance -are a group of man made chemicals that have been used for decades by companies such as 2M and DuPont in manufacturing everyday products, including nonstick pans, polishes, waxes, paints and cleaning compounds.
..... OFAS have contaminated drinking water systems nationwide, including many throughout New Jersey. They are known as "forever chemicals" because they do not break down in the environment.
..... Exposure to PFAS carries several risks, including increased chance of prostate, kidney and testicular cancers. according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
..... PFAS contamination has been found in many drinking water systems, especially those that rely on well water. It has forced water companies and towns to install expensive equipment to filter out the chemicals before they reach the tap.
..... PFSA compounds PFOA, and GenX have been found in drinking water from such upscale towns as Ridgewood in Bergen County, in shore towns like Toms River and in sparsely populated communities at the southwestern tip of New Jersey.
..... They are so prevalent that a map accompanying a 2020 report shows New Jersey blotted out with water samples having detectable levels of PFAS.

How are PFAS used to fight fires?

..... Along with consumer products, PFAS are used in aqueous film-forming form.
..... AFFF is an effective firefighting tool because it creates a film that blocks a fire's oxygen supply and prevents reignite.
..... It was sold for decades to local fire departments, military and industrial facilities, airports and firefighter training academies across New Jersey and elsewhere.
..... But AFFF can seep into the ground at the site of a fire and migrate to nearby water bodies.
..... Modern alternatives do not contain PFAS, state environments officials said.

How will the foam be destroyed?

..... A DEP contractor, Ohio-based Revive environmental technology will sue a high-pressure, high-temperature process called "supercritical oxidation" to destroy all the foam collected form fire departments.
..... The process is not expected to spread PFAS to the surrounding environment. It breaks down the chemical bonds to form benign substances, the DEP said.

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