A newly-enacted State program for collecting so-called “forever chemicals” is being welcomed by local firefighters.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources announced on Monday that it has begun collecting waste firefighting foam from fire departments around the state. Those foams have long depended upon PFAS chemicals, which do a very good job helping to suppress fires, but at the same time pose a health risk to humans. PFAS also linger in the environment – and the human body – indefinitely, and as such have been restricted to emergency use only. Departments have been transitioning away from foams containing PFAS and, when their use is needed, extra cleanup steps are required.
Sheboygan Fire Department Chief Eric Montellano says that the City’s inventory consists of about 145 gallons of PFAS-containing Class-B foam, some of it on hand in front-line rigs in case it’s needed during emergencies. About 30 gallons reside in reserve apparatus and another 40 gallons are in storage.
Proper disposal of the material is expensive, and that’s been a barrier to departments who typically store the foam on-site. The new $1 million DNR program will be carried out by North Shore Environmental Construction Inc., a Wisconsin-based company that is equipped to collect and dispose of at least 25,000 gallons of PFAS-containing firefighting foam, freeing departments from stretching their budgets in order to do that on their own. Montellano told WHBL that the DNR’s program will “…definitely help us out since our operating budget is very limited.”
Montellano also said that several other Sheboygan County Fire Departments also have PFAS, and they, too, stand to benefit from the program that will protect the health of firefighters, the public, and the environment alike.
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