AFFF at Commercial Airports – the Blessings and the Curse of PFAS

Unintended consequences are outcomes that are not foreseen or planned by actions or decisions, and they are often associated with government regulations. So, when the federal government required that commercial airports train with, calibrate equipment with, and use the best performing aqueous film-forming foam fire (AFFF) suppression systems to protect the safety of passengers, crew and others in the case of petroleum-based fires at airports, little did anyone predict that components in the AFFF would ultimately present threats to human health and the environment. In fact, the key constituents that help make AFFF so effective at fighting fires – surfactant compounds from a class of chemicals referred to as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFASs) – have recently been associated with considerable adverse health effects, including cancer.