Bulletin #38, Companies that have switched over to F3 products, 1 October 2021 These listed companies have already transitioned to fluorine-free firefighting foams for their industrial facilities and corporate owned properties. Company Year Transitioned to F3 Products 3M 2018 1…
Fire Department Service Announcement
International entities using PFAS-free firefighting foams, Bulletin #37 International entities Location Year Auckland Airport Auckland, New Zealand 2019 1 All 27 major Australian airports including Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade (changed over in 2014) Australia 2018 2 Bristol Airport Bristol, England,…
Fire Department Service Announcement
Bulletin #36, monitoring PFAS exposure in fire service personnel There is growing awareness and concern for the fire service and their exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). This concern has led to several research efforts to study and better…
Bulletin #29, US Department of Veterans Affairs – PFAS Health Concerns
Active-duty military firefighters can obtain a PFAS blood test only during their annual physical. Retired military firefighters have no option for a PFAS blood test through the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). They can, however, obtain a PFAS blood…
Foam Exposure Committee: calling out all Aqueous Film Forming Foams (AFFF)
Don’t dump fluorinated (AFFF) firefighting foams into a storm drain, the sewer or landfills1 Don’t sell or give away fluorinated AFFF or AR-AFFF to other fire departments Do not send it to a training site or a fire academy to…
Foam Exposure Committee Bulletin #18: Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) is not ‘safe as soap’
The fire service has always been told that AFFF is as ‘safe as soap’ to use in their communities and for their firefighters. It is actually not. This is now evidenced by nationwide PFAS water-contamination issues. AFFF should not hit…
Bulletin #7 from the Foam Exposure Committee: PFAS at additional sites
Fluorinated firefighting foams known as Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFF) are being identified nationwide as a water contamination source issue. The Foam Exposure Committee (FEC) lists possible contaminated areas that have yet to be addressed on a national level: 27,184 …
Firefighters on the PFAS front
Firefighters have been on the front lines of firefighting foams containing PFAS chemicals for decades. Yet, they have not been informed and could still be unaware of PFAS toxicity issues. When the Foam Exposure Committee (FEC) began testing for total…
Bulletin #5 from the Foam Exposure Committee, 8 January 2021
Firefighters have become much more aware of the perfluorinated chemical compounds used in firefighting foams. PFAS are used in all Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) and pose a threat to firefighter health, safety and life. In addition to exposure at incidents,…
Foam Exposure Committee leading PFAS Research
The Foam Exposure Committee (FEC) is leading research into PFAS chemicals found in firefighting foam and how to best protect firefighters and the environment from these harmful substances. It has recently released of fluorine testing data on firefighting foams, with…