Last month, the U.S. Department of Defense issued a new specification for fluorine-free foam (“F3”) that would replace the PFAS-containing AFFF (Aqueous Film-Forming Foam), still widely used by the U.S. military and airport firefighting crews. This is an important step in reducing or ending the use of AFFF, which continues to be used in select applications because it has no adequate replacement. The new specification limits PFAS content in the F3 foam to 1 part per billion. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been working with the U.S. Navy to develop the new specification, and has advised that it will permit usage of F3 at facilities under its oversight once qualified products have been introduced.
PFAS: Civilian Usage and Disposal
This week we continue our series of blogs reflecting on material covered in the “Impact of PFAS on Environmental Litigation (Virtual) Conference” hosted by Perrin Conferences by examining the growing focus on civilian usage and disposal of PFAS.
When certain PFAS chemicals first became cause for concern, it was the manufacturers of the chemicals themselves—firms such as DuPont and 3M—that were the focus of litigation. As focus broadened to end-users and disposers of chemicals that contained harmful PFAS, it was largely the military that came under scrutiny due to its widespread use of AFFF firefighting foam, as we described in last week’s blog. Today, however, there is also widespread focus on civil users, distributors, and disposers of PFAS-containing material, a point driven home by conference presenters.
PFAS: Military Usage Still a Major Concern
Last week we began our series of blogs reflecting on material covered in the Impact of PFAS on Environmental Litigation (Virtual) Conference hosted by Perrin Conferences, with a look at the federal government’s recent actions to address PFAS in the environment. This week, we’ll take another look at military sources of PFAS contamination. TRG has been a pioneer in researching historical usage and disposal of PFAS end-products such as AFFF during the last decade. In the coming years, we expect our research into AFFF and other PFAS and PFAS-containing chemicals to continue to grow, as our current and future clients in both government and the private sector seek out our in-depth knowledge of the relevant federal, state, and local records and our ability to provide detailed information relevant to their cases.
PFAS: As Litigation Expands, So Does Our Research
The list of toxic contaminants that spawn costly environmental litigation and propel our research projects expands constantly. One of the latest additions is the family of PFAS (per- or polyfluoroalkyl substances), which currently appear on track to have the same staying power in the world of toxic tort litigation as many of the other chemicals whose production and use we routinely document. Last year, Taylor Research Group highlighted our focus on two PFAS, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which were ingredients in firefighting foam. Since that time, this family of so-called “forever chemicals” has gained increasing attention.
PFOS and PFOA: Investigating Emerging Contaminants of Concern
Many of the research cases that we work on involve hazardous contaminants in soil or groundwater. Increasingly, that includes research into the usage and disposal of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). These chemicals are part of a larger group of chemicals called polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also called perfluorocarbons (PFC).