Congress is about to gut key #PFAS protections in the #NDAA and open the door to more contamination at military bases.
It will allow the DOD to buy and use #AFFF again, undoing years of progress and putting service members, families and nearby communities at risk.
www.ewg.org/news-insight...
🧯 Mechanical Foam (AFFF) Extinguisher
✔ For Class A: Wood, paper, cloth
✔ For Class B: Flammable liquids
🚫 Not for electrical or metal fires
Choose the right extinguisher for the right fire.
👉 namanfireengineers.com
#FireSafety #MechanicalFoam #AFFF #FireExtinguishers #FireProtection #NamanFire
Two short videos featuring #Maine State Representative Dan Ankeles
Brunswick Landing: Legislative Achievements
🧵 1/2
#MRRA #AFFF
tv3hd.brunswickme.org/CablecastPub...
A Private Life Starring Jodie Foster will Open the 29th American French Film Festival #janetwalker #hautelifestylecom #theentertainmentzonecom #afff #americanfrenchfilmfestival #losangeles #entertainment #moviestowatch
www.haute-lifestyle.com/haute-lifest...
Tonight at Bowdoin!
Free tickets available at link below
Stay on after the film (~8:30-9) for a discussion of Brunswick's #AFFF spill
#PFAS #HowToPoisonAPlanet @markruffalo.bsky.social
LD 222: a bill to create a take-back program for Maine's toxic firefighting foam
Unfortunately did NOT pass, but will get another chance next year
Let's get the #AFFF out of Maine to protect our drinking water from forever chemicals!
mainemorningstar.com/2025/07/10/g...
Maine legislative update (cont.)
Unfortunately, LD 222 was NOT signed by Gov. Mills
It will be held over to the next session (likely January)
This bill would have created an #AFFF takeback program to rid Maine of all toxic foam - and prevent other environmental catastrophes
🧵
While good news for Brunswick, we hope American Airlines will be a more responsible steward of this toxic foam - and that it will not end up polluting another community
#PFAS #AFFF
Maine legislative update from Rep. Dan Ankeles:
2 of 3 of his #AFFF foam bills have been signed into law by the Governor
Fingers crossed for the third bill🤞
Very good news at the meeting:
Looks like MRRA is finally getting the #AFFF out of all the airport hangars!
MRRA struck a deal to sell the AFFF concentrate in Hangars 5 & 7 to American Airlines
1800 gallons in Hangar 7 - AA to pickup this week
4125 gallons in Hangar 5 - pickup within 30 days
🔥 Turning the Tide on PFAS 🔥
Statewide AFFF takeback programs in OH, NH & NC are redefining environmental protection. Using SCWO tech, they’re safely destroying PFAS in firefighting foams—protecting water & public health. 💧♻️
eponline.com/articles/202...
#PFAS #AFFF #CleanWater #SCWO #PublicHealth
Here's our latest PFAS Progress Report Card -
Hoping for an update on MRRA's ongoing delays shutting off all #AFFF firefighting foam systems
0% de surpresa sobre a dicotombada "não gasto meu suado dinheirinho pra ir ao cinema ver filme nacional" versus "ainnnn vi Homem Com H na Netflix, que filme maravilhoso, viva o cinema brasileiro" #afff #cansado Mobem, se dependesse de você o cinema tava é morto
From Rep. Dan Ankeles (via Facebook, 5/28/2025): Apologies for two posts in one day, but when it rains, it pours: Governor Mills has just signed LD 407, which directs MRRA to shut down all AFFF systems, remove all AFFF concentrate and purge those same systems of all toxic residue. Thank you to the Governor, the DEP, and everyone in Brunswick who helped make this happen! The House has also enacted LD 222, which creates a statewide AFFF takeback program. The Senate - as expected - will hold onto the bill unless/until funding can be located, so that’s what I will spend the next few weeks working on.
While we hoped MRRA would voluntarily get the #AFFF out of all hangars much earlier, this bill at least puts an end date in sight
Thank you again to Representative Ankeles for shepherding this critically-needed legislation👏
Good news:
Governor Mills has signed into law a bill (LD 407) requiring the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA) to stop using toxic #PFAS containing firefighting foam at the Brunswick Airport
Hangar 5 #AFFF must be shut off by December 31, 2025
www.pressherald.com/2025/05/28/m...
Maine toxic foam bills: closer to becoming law!
If LD 222 is passed, "the state will be able to get rid of every drop of this terrible poison"
LD 407 would require MRRA to finally shut off all #AFFF systems at Brunswick Airport (Hangar 5 is still active)
mainemorningstar.com/2025/05/21/p...
What’s going on with the AFFF #lawsuit? Who is exposed to #afff? How can we help #firefighters?
#masstorts #masstortmichael
Not medical or legal advice
Town Manager Brunswick Landing/Brunswick Executive Airport Update (c) In the resolution passed by the Town Council on September 3, 2024, I am required to provide a report at each Council meeting. This report now includes a variety of items at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station. This week I am disappointed to have little progress to report. There are a number of questions outstanding, and my list is as follows: - What is the status of the root-cause analysis? - What is the anticipated timing for turning off the foam system in Hangar 5? - What is happening with the remaining amount of AFFF in Hangar 6? - Has the Hangar 7 foam concentrate been removed yet? - What is happening with the large dirt piles associated with the construction on Line Drive? - When will the Navy test wells on the west side of the airport? - What safety procedures are in place for the golf course well?
No answers to outstanding AFFF/PFAS questions at tonight's Brunswick Town Council
MRRA appears to have broken their February promise to shut off #AFFF systems "within 90 days" - Town Manager says Hangar 5 will be off by "end of calendar year" (possibly sooner)
www.brunswickme.gov/AgendaCenter...
Bill would require MRRA (who now runs the Brunswick Executive Airport) to:
Shut off all fire suppression systems that use #AFFF (Hangar 5 is still active!)
Remove foam from the property by 12/31/2025
Purge/clean systems by end of 2026
Full text of LD 407:
legislature.maine.gov/bills/getPDF...
Good news Brunswick: we're a step closer to getting the #AFFF outta here
Maine House voted to approve LD 407
This bill would ensure removal of aqueous film-forming firefighting foam (with toxic #PFAS forever chemicals) from the former Brunswick Naval Air Station
Thanks to Rep. Dan Ankeles 👏
Thank you to Dr. Christoph Aeppli & Hannah Sterling of Bigelow Labs, to Will Everitt (Friends of Casco Bay) for presenting this groundbreaking work
...and to everyone involved in this comprehensive (and ongoing!) sampling effort to study the effects of the #AFFF foam spill on Harpswell Cove waters
Highlights from yesterday's MRRA Board Meeting
Hangar 5 #AFFF system:
Shifting the goalposts, MRRA now promises to shut-down the system by the end of this calendar year (instead of by mid-May as promised)
MRRA: "getting quotes" and "exploring removal costs"
tv3hd.brunswickme.org/CablecastPub...
Some #AFFF and #PFAS updates at Brunswick Town Council Meeting tonight (4/22)
1/x 🧵
Hangar 6's AFFF has been disconnected and will be sent to an Army Corps of Engineers facility in Mississippi researching how to destroy PFAS
brunswicklanding.us/hangar-6-aff...
Good news on the legislative front from Rep. Dan Ankeles and Senate President Daughtry @mattieformaine.bsky.social (pictured below):
LD400, a bill to create a statewide inventory of #AFFF, moves forward!
Welcome news that the toxic foam has been removed from Hangar 6 of Brunswick Executive Airport
Thanks to the many citizens who pushed for over the last 8+ months to make the airport safer for our community
Now let's get the #AFFF outta Hangar 5 too!
www.pressherald.com/2025/04/15/b...
Se sou tão linda assim, pq n tenho um namorado ainda?
#duvidadodia #afff
An airplane hangar at Brunswick Executive Airport filled with toxic, PFAS-laden aqueous film-forming foam after an accidental discharge in August 2024. Approximately 1450 gallons of AFFF mixed with 50,000 gallons of water was released from Hangar 4 after an accidental discharge.
Stunning photo of the catastrophic #AFFF foam spill in Hangar 4 of the Brunswick Executive Airport (Aug. 2024)
Hat tip to Haley Bernier for spotting
~1450 gallons of the PFAS-laden foam, mixed with 50,000 gallons of water, was accidentally released
Source: www.brunswickme.gov/AgendaCenter...
My colleagues and I on the Environment and Natural Resources Committee have just voted 9-3 to pass LD 407, my bill to direct MRRA to remove AFFF and related residual PFAS in MRRA’s fire suppression systems. This is a fantastic bipartisan result, but I’m still working with my colleagues across the aisle who voted no to assure them that this bill will have no impact on Maine’s general fund, their chief concern at this point. Here is what the bill as amended now does: Directs MRRA to shut off and remove all stored AFFF concentrate by the end of this calendar year. Directs MRRA to raise sufficient funds to purge its fire suppression systems by July 1 of 2026. Directs MRRA to complete said purge by the end of 2026. This will cover all MRRA property, including Hangar 5, Hangar 6 and Hangar 7. Remember that the Navy has already purged and taken away the AFFF in Hangar 4, where the August 19 spill took place.
I’m grateful to my colleagues, the community, the town for all the hard work they’ve done to advocate for our environment, our public health and our safety so far. I’m also grateful to new MRRA executive director Dan Stevenson for forging this agreement with me. The bill will now move to the floor of the House after we do one final review of the language. Last thing I’ll say for this post: I said this before, but I’m working on one other piece of legislation to help MRRA strengthen an existing revenue stream that it gets for new jobs created on the former airbase. I’m now considering this to be a “fourth” spill bill because MRRA has indicated that passage of the bill could help them leverage enough money to purge their systems.
Good news on LD 407 from State Rep. Dan Ankeles -
(this is the bill to prohibit #AFFF on MRRA property)
The committee voted to advance the bill!
Queston 1: Where is MRRA in the process of the 90-day plan to shut off AFFF systems in hangers 5 and 6? MRRA is currently in the process of finalizing the shutdown plan for the AFFF system in hangers 6, with a goal to complete this by the end of the first week in April. The MRRA Board prioritized the shut down and removal of AFFF in Hangar 6 as the highest priority given its proximity to the Jordan Avenue well head for the Brunswick Topsham Water District and the Androscoggin River. This plan includes coordination with our consultant, Poole Fire Protection and the Brunswick Fire Department to ensure continued safety measures are in place during this transition. Eastern Fire will have technicians onsite to reconfigure the IR (infrared) sensors in Hangar 6 starting on March 24, 2025, with an expected completion of work within 3-4 days, in the transition from an AFFF fire suppression system to a water only fire suppression system. Fire Safe will deliver five (5) 300lb ABC portable fire extinguishers on the week of March 24, 2025 as recommended by Poole Fire Protection and approved by the Brunswick Fire Department. The shutdown process for hangar 5 will be similar to hangar 6 but may require additional steps due to the complexity of the fire suppression system. The shutdown process for hangar 5 will involve coordination with our consultant Poole Fire Protection, Eastern Fire and the Brunswick Fire Department to ensure all necessary steps are taken to safely shut down the AFFF fire suppression system. We plan for a meeting in early April to provide clarity on the final scope of work and timeline for completion. We will update Board and public about the timeline once it has been set.
Question 2: What is the status of the Root Cause Analysis? Poole Fire protection is in the process of finalizing the Root Cause Analysis report, which we expect to receive within the next few weeks. This analysis will help us identify the underlying issues that led to the malfunction of the AFFF fire suppression system and will be shared with the public. Question 3: When will the Airport Master Plan Update meeting be rescheduled? The Airport Master Plan Update public meeting is scheduled for April 16, 2025 at 6:00 pm in the Brunswick Town Council Chambers and will be broadcast on Brunswick’s Public Access channel. We will post the finalized agenda soon. Question 4: Is the Mere Creek Golf Course well water being used for consumption or food preparation? This question has been raised as a result of MaineDEP’s recent report of elevated levels of PFAS exceeding safe drinking water standards from the Mere Creek Golf Course well. We understand the importance of providing clean and safe drinking water for all members and guests at the Golf Course Club House. As I reported last week, I have directed MRRA staff to purchase and have installed a PFAS water filtration system for the Golf Course Club House prior to the opening of the golf course this spring. We have reached out to Harris Golf to have them respond to the Town Council’s specific question regarding its food preparation process and will report their response. Daniel Stevenson Executive Director Midcoast regional Redevelopment Authority March 18, 2025
#MRRA update:
Report on Progress to Turn Off #AFFF Systems in Hangars 5 and 6, Root Cause of August 2024 catastrophe, and Water Service at the Mere Creek Club House
Public Comments [4/n]
1. On the root cause analysis (cause of the August spill):
"Why is that continually being put off and not addressed by MRRA?"
2. On MRRA's schedule for turning off their toxic #AFFF systems:
"What's holding that up?"
