Ohio PFAS takeback program sees collection of nearly 14,000 gallons of toxic foam

The Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) Takeback Program is operated by the Ohio EPA, the State Fire Marshal’s Office and science and technology company Battelle. The program is open to all Ohio fire departments, local governments, state certified fire and EMS training schools and government-owned airports.

Firefighting foam with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) became a common element at airports and military bases throughout the country. PFAS are a group of powerful, toxic chemicals created to be resistant to heat and other elements. PFAS are very difficult to break down due to their chemical composition, which consists of strong bonds of fluorine and carbon atoms. For this reason, they are often referred to as “forever chemicals.”

Research shows PFAS have links to a few kinds of cancer, thyroid dysfunction, reproductive harm and other health concerns.

The takeback project — a $3 million initiative that launched this spring — is funded with settlement money that Ohio received as part of the state’s polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) enforcement case against Monsanto, which was filed by then-Attorney General DeWine in 2018. The program launched at an event at Wright State University’s Calamityville campus this spring. Ohio officials then said the program was the first of its kind in the nation.

In 2022, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed a law to ban the use of AFFF at firefighting training centers, a bill first introduced by state Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Butler Twp.

Fire departments from Butler, Clark and Greene counties were included in the program’s first round.

Ohio EPA director Anne Vogel said the thousands of gallons of foam collected represent “just a drop in the bucket” of what exists in the state. The Ohio EPA reported that 72,469 gallons of AFFF have been registered in the state through the program.

Some area fire departments, including Dayton Fire Department, look toward collection events. The fire department submitted its request in March to participate in the Ohio AFFF Takeback Program, but hasn’t yet been notified that it has been selected to participate in a collection event, said Brad French, Dayton’s assistant fire chief.

Fire departments and other participating agencies must register with the Ohio EPA to be scheduled for a future collection event. Additional collection events will be announced by the Ohio EPA.

A Dayton Daily News investigation last year found that 15 of the region’s public water systems, which supply drinking water to hundreds of thousands of residents, have levels of PFAS that exceed a new legal limit of 4 parts per trillion (ppt) for the group of chemicals.

A major contributor to groundwater contamination from PFAS in this area is runoff from firefighting foam used over decades at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the Dayton International Airport because of its ability to extinguish jet fuel fires. This is one reason PFAS levels are particularly high under the base, water quality experts have said.

Through the program, AFFF is exposed to supercritical water oxidation, which effectively destroys AFFF and PFAS-contaminated wastewater to non-detectable levels. The technology used in the program was produced by science and technology company Batelle after nearly 20 years of research into PFAS.