Cleanup is progressing after firefighting foam was spilled at the former naval base

Firefighting foam from a hangar at Brunswick Executive Airport has been removed and mitigation is underway in four containment ponds following the largest accidental spill of firefighting agent on record in Maine, officials said. officials said.

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention has advised the public not to eat or limit consumption of freshwater fish from four nearby bodies of water after the accidental spill of firefighting foam containing harmful chemicals known as PFAS .

An investigation is ongoing into why a fire suppression system discharged on August 19 in Hangar 4, releasing 1,450 gallons (5,490 liters) of firefighting foam concentrate mixed with 50,000 gallons (190,000 liters) of water at the former naval base. Federal records show the spill is Maine’s largest accidental spill since records began in the 1990s.

The planes that were sprayed are undergoing final cleaning inside the hangar, and then the hangar will be cleaned one last time, officials said Monday. Four vacuum trucks were deployed to remove foam from the retention ponds, officials said.

PFAS are associated with health problems, including several types of cancer, and are found in everything from food packaging to clothing in addition to firefighting foam. Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed, for the first time, limits on the so-called chemicals in drinking water forever.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is overseeing the remediation of the former Brunswick Naval Air Station, now known as Brunswick Landing. The base, which officially closed in 2011, had automatic fire suppression in large hangars that once housed P-3 Orion patrol planes and other aircraft.

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