BRUNSWICK, Maine — Cleanup of toxic firefighting foam that officials say accidentally discharged inside a hangar at the Brunswick Executive Airport more than a week after the incident occurred.
Crews with Clean Harbors, a waste management company, were seen Tuesday outside the airport working alongside personnel with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.
Susanne Miller, director of the state agency's Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management division, laid out the work being done as of Tuesday in an email to NEWS CENTER Maine.
Miller explained that crews were finishing cleanup of the airport hangars; samples were being taken in Pond A, Outlet of Pond C, and the Outlet of Picnic Pond; and crews were collecting foam at Ponds A, B, C, and Picnic Pond, as well as at Purinton Road.
Miller also said a second frac tank was delivered today to store impacted water. Once the initial frac tank is full it will be taken off site for disposal by a clean-up contractor.
This comes as high levels of PFAS chemicals were found in nearby drainage ponds, where some of the foam drifted.
Initial test results showed a concentration of the chemical PFOS at 701 parts per trillion where it drains out of the ponds. For context, the federal drinking water standard for PFOS is 4 parts per trillion.
“My initial reactions were one of, 'What can we do? What’s safe? How do we get the word out?' And really upset and concern,” Sen. Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, said.
Daughtry is encouraging people to attend a special town meeting Thursday night for an update on the situation and have their voices heard.
“This is really a forum for folks to come, share their opinions," she told NEWS CENTER Maine. "We’ve had a lot of concerns, and I’ve had a lot of frustration about the lack of communication.”
She stressed that now is an important time for state and local officials to look at ways to prevent this from happening again.
The special town meeting has been scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Brunswick Town Hall. It can be attended in person or on Zoom.
You can click here to see an update on the cleanup process.