While fighting a diesel-fueled truck on fire near the Maine Mall, South Portland firefighters sprayed 47 gallons of aqueous-film forming foam (AFFF) to extinguish the fire. This foam, long known to be dangerous to firefighter’s health and a contaminant of water sources contains PFAS or “forever chemicals.” As a result of the firefighting efforts, the foam — and PFAS — flowed into a nearby wetland and Long Creek.

This is the same type of foam that escaped at the Brunswick Executive Airport due to a major malfunction at an aircraft hangar. These recent examples are a stark reminder that these harmful chemicals are a part of our day-to-day lives and that their continued use poses significant public health risks. For years, the Maine Legislature has been working to eliminate our dependency on PFAS, especially by creating programs to test and treat land and water where toxic sludge, a source of PFAS contamination, was spread. We’ve been working with farmers and landowners to counter the health and financial impact of this contamination. Now it’s time to support our fire service in a similar way.

During the most recent legislative session, my colleague, Sen. Henry Ingwerson, D-Biddeford, championed L.D. 1537, which passed with unanimous bipartisan support. I was proud to support this legislation and a 2021 bill, L.D. 1503, to phase out PFAS in products used and manufactured in Maine. Exceptions exist for medical devices, computer chips and other unavoidable uses, while alternatives are developed. This aligns Maine with other states that are beginning to ban the same products on a similar timeline. It took lots of coordination with businesses and industries to determine a plausible timeline for when we can accomplish phasing out these chemicals, but the Legislature made it happen.

Starting in January 2026, cleaning products, cookware, cosmetics, dental floss, juvenile products (products designed for use by infants and children under age 12), textile articles, ski wax and upholstered furniture containing added PFAS will all be prohibited. Furthermore, by 2029, outdoor apparel for severe wet conditions and artificial turf that have PFAS intentionally added will be prohibited. By 2032, most other products containing PFAS will be phased out. Heating, ventilation, air conditioning and cooling equipment will be included by 2040.

When the Legislature began our work on PFAS, there was not a safe alternative to the firefighting foam. Federal and state regulations also required it be used at airports. Alternatives to AFFF have now become available for this use.

We are lucky to have a proactive department like South Portland Fire Department in our district, which had already planned to switch to a fluorine-free fire fighting agent called F3, a product free of PFAS. SPFD recently received a quote of $138,000 to remove all 3,000 gallons of foam currently in stock. While this figure doesn’t include the disposal costs of the foam, it is a step in the right direction, but is also a cost most departments, especially volunteer services, in Maine can’t afford.

At a state level, I will join my colleagues to advocate for state support to audit, remove, and replace AFFF throughout our community and state. As a legislator, mother and grandmother, I work to ensure that everyone can safely enjoy the beauty our state holds. Climate change, forever chemicals, petroleum emissions and other harmful impacts on our health and well-being are not topics I take lightly.

If you have legislative proposals you’d like to discuss, please feel free to reach out to me at Anne.Carney@legislature.maine.gov. I would be thrilled to hear from you and your ideas on how we can work together to keep our state safe.