The Pentagon is expected to request an extension to an Oct. 1 deadline set by Congress to stop using firefighting foam that contains hazardous "forever chemicals" at more than 1,500 facilities and in thousands of vehicles and portable equipment worldwide, according to a new report.
The Department of Defense announced last September that after nearly a decade of research it had finally identified a fluorine-free foam that met its needs for replacing its current firefighting foam, known as aqueous film forming foam, or AFFF, which contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS.
According to a new report from the Government Accountability Office, however, the transition to the fluorine-free foam will not occur this year; instead, the DoD likely will ask for an extension through 2026 to make the switch.
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PFAS are often referred to as forever chemicals because they don't degrade or break down in the environment. A study published last year showed a link between the chemicals and testicular cancer in military firefighters, and the substances also are associated with kidney cancer, increased cholesterol, lower birth weights, and a decreased immune response to immunizations.
The GAO said that, while the military services have developed transition plans, schedules and cost estimates to switch to fluorine-free foam, roadblocks stand in the way, such as cost, equipment changes, training and the new foam itself, which isn't effective in extremely hot or cold environments.
"The extensions are primarily due to the time it takes to transition systems from AFFF to fluorine-free alternatives without compromising missions or safety," GAO analysts wrote in the report, Firefighting Foam: DoD Is Working to Address Challenges to Transitioning to PFAS-Free Alternatives, published July 8.
The military services have used firefighting foam that contains PFAS for decades in training and operations, leading to the contamination of soil and groundwater at installations and nearby communities. The department began testing and monitoring its facilities and surrounding areas for PFAS in 2016, and has assessed more than 700 for potential cleanup.
As a result of the hazards posed by those chemicals, Congress required the DoD in the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act to stop using AFFF for training and operations after Oct. 1, except on ocean-going vessels, where uncontrolled fires pose a significant threat to equipment and personnel.
GAO analysts said the DoD has made advancements moving toward fluorine-free foam, but the challenges facing the department loom large, starting with the price tag of $2.1 billion.
According to the GAO, the PFAS-free foam is 21% more costly than AFFF, and many of the systems that use AFFF will have to be modified for the new product, or the product may not be compatible at all, given that some military firefighting equipment requires the foam to be mixed with water before use, and fluorine-free foam can't be pre-mixed.
And there is the issue with extreme temperatures. According to the report, the specifications for the new foam did not include a requirement to meet a wide temperature range and therefore "cannot be used in assets operating in certain temperature ranges."
The Defense Department also told the GAO that its firefighters were not fully trained on the fluorine-free foam, contributing to the need for extensions.
Melanie Benesh, vice president of government affairs at the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization focused on changing industry standards to decrease pollution, said Monday that Congress gave the DoD "ample time" to make the transition and communities should not have to wait.
"There are market-ready, PFAS-free firefighting foams that are safe and effective that meet the DoD's new standards for foams," Benesh said. "Decades of use of PFAS-laden foams have made military sites some of the most contaminated hot spots for PFAS pollution."
The DoD did not provide the GAO with a formal response to the report. Earlier this year, the DoD said it planned to expand its review of the presence of PFAS chemicals in base drinking water systems and neighboring communities after the Environmental Protection Agency announced stricter limits on some PFAS chemicals in drinking water supplies.
As of last year, the department had assessed 707 active and former military sites for contamination, finding that 574 needed to be addressed in the next phase of the cleanup process.
With the new EPA standards, however, DoD officials are revisiting the remaining 133 sites to determine whether further remediation is needed, according to department officials.
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