BRUNSWICK, Maine — It was a packed meeting Thursday at Brunswick Town Hall, where local and state officials held a public forum to discuss the release of toxic firefighting foam at the Brunswick Executive Airport 10 days prior. It was the largest spill of its kind in the town and state’s recorded history.
1,450 gallons of aqueous film-forming foam, or AFFF, spilled at Hangar 4 in the early morning hours of Aug. 19. The foam contains high levels of PFAS forever chemicals. According to the EPA, contact with those chemicals can cause a number of negative health effects, including an increased risk of certain cancers and reproductive issues.
Many residents expressed a deep frustration with how the risks were initially communicated by the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, or MRRA, which manages Brunswick Landing and includes the site of the spill as well as hundreds of residential units and businesses.
“This is irresponsible. […] People are getting hurt, and people are scared,” Caitlin D’Amour, whose husband was working near where the foam spilled, said during Thursday’s meeting. “Nobody informed my husband, his crew, anyone who works [there] until the following day.”
Jeffrey Jordan with MRRA admitted there were problems with messaging.
“I think there’s some justification for their frustration,” Jordan said after Thursday’s meeting.
Many residents also worried the toxic chemicals from the spill could seep into their private drinking wells. The public water supply, however, has been confirmed safe by the Brunswick and Topsham Water District . The spill didn’t reach the source of water used by the town.
“We’ve got some initial tests already. It hasn’t come over to our aquifer,” Craig Douglas, the general manager of the Brunswick and Topsham Water District, said Thursday.
While this is welcome news to Douglas, he still worries about future spills.
According to data shared by the Maine DEP, there are still thousands of gallons of unreleased AFFF in Hangars 4, 5, and 6 of the Brunswick Executive Airport. The U.S. Navy had planned to remove the contained foam from Hangar 4, but Douglas said Hangar 6 is closest to the drinking supply and urges the effort to extend to all the hangars.
“We believe it can be done and should be done,” Douglas said.