GreenFire® AFFF REPLACEMENT FOAM WAS MENTIONED IN THIS CBS EVENING NEWS REPORT THAT AIRED ON SEPTEMBER 7, 2022.
AFFF Replacement is becoming one of the most environmentally important and lifesaving changes being made in the firefighting industry today. Firefighters for decades have been spraying AFFF foams on fires to do their job, not knowing that the very foams they use are a hidden TOXIC cancer causing threat to them.
The Problem
“AFFF firefighting foams have been used for decades due to their effectiveness in extinguishing petroleum-based fires, like jet fuel, because the thin film they form deprives fire of oxygen. Until recently, runoff from firefighting foams containing PFAS was not contained during training sessions or when extinguishing real fires, allowing the chemicals to seep into soil and groundwater.”
Recent research shows PFAS pose serious health risks and are now being phased out of use. Many states and the U.S. Department of Defense are banning disposing of AFFF through incineration. The result of safer measures by those departments means fire stations, airports, and military bases in communities across the country have stockpiled their PFAS-containing AFFF.
The Solution
INSP Group’s strategic partner GreenFire® has been at the forefront of PFAS destruction and Non-Toxic AFFF Replacement technology.
Battelle, an independent applied science and technology organization and one of the world’s largest nonprofit, has completed a month-long project with GreenFire®. Together they were able to safely destroy and dispose of firefighting foams, which contain high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS and implement a Non-Toxic AFFF Replacement Foam.
The PFAS destruction or SCWO technology is capable of effectively destroying PFAS chemicals to non-detect levels.
GreenFire®, which produces fire defense and extinguishment products along with Battelle, destroyed firefighting foam—known as Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) which contain high concentrations of PFAS.
The SCWO technology process was implemented at a GreenFire® collection site in Charlotte, N.C. to destroy stockpiled AFFF that came from several local fire houses.
SCWO stands for supercritical water oxidation. This process breaks the carbon-fluorine bond, which is the backbone of one of the most durable human-made chemicals, by adding an oxidant once in the supercritical state, then neutralizing to inert salts.
Firefighters have expressed the need for effective solutions that don’t pose health and environmental threats. GreenFire® saw this project as an ideal opportunity to demonstrate to customers, regulators, public officials, and firefighters that in addition to offering AFF Replacement (PFAS-free foam), there also exists a safe and effective destruction and disposal solution for AFFF.
“We’ve had some of this foam sitting there for more than 40 years with no safe way to dispose of it,” said Waxhaw (NC) Fire Department Chief, Gregory Sharpe. “Right now, there are approximately 200 gallons in our stockpile. When I got a call about this new solution to safely and affordably get rid of our PFAS foam and replace it with new eco-friendly foam, I jumped on it immediately.”
GreenFire® CEO, Brandon Miller, said that when discussing alternatives to PFAS-based firefighting foams with his customers, they always ask about what to do with their existing stockpiles. “Fire departments have vast stockpiles of PFAS-laden foam they need to properly dispose of and replace with an effective, non-toxic foam,” Miller said. “We are now able to offer a unique full-circle solution that safely and effectively addresses both of those needs.”
Click learn more about GreenFire’s non-toxic AFFF Replacement firefighting foams and their unique full circle solution in collaboration with INSP Group.
To learn more why PFAs are dangerous
AFFF Stockpile
GreenFire® Testing Facility and Firefighters
About INSP Group PFAS Destruction Technology
INSP Group has now developed their own SCWO technology system and PFAS destruction programs. For example, their Fire Engine PFAS FOAM Clean-out program safely removes and destroys PFAs residues from using AFFF foams. Then they can be replaced with non Toxic AFFF Replacement foams like the GreenFire® Wetting Agent or GFFF.