Passaic County doesn't have any more firefighting foam as costs rise for PFAS-free replacement
The state took the old foam to be destroyed, but the new foam comes at a cost, with reimbursement pending.
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Fire departments around New Jersey will soon no longer be able to use firefighting foam with harmful "forever chemicals" known as PFAS.
One North Jersey county is now without a replacement, and they're asking commissioners for help.
Passaic fire chief Patrick Trentacost says the department turned over its foam to the state. New Jersey has collected more than 140,000 gallons of foam that contain PFAS. These chemicals are linked to various cancers. The old foam will be destroyed at no cost to the cities or fire departments.
This foam is highly effective at fighting petroleum fires, like the one that ignited on Interstate 287 in Edison in May. One person died and three more were injured when a car collided with a fuel tanker. A call went out nearly an hour north to Passaic County, but they could not help without their foam.
“We don’t want to bury any more people - especially firefighters and police officers - from cancer," said Trentacost. "So, I’m on board with it. It’s just, you have to fund the replacement.”
The Department of Environmental Protection says it has more than $600,000 to reimburse replacement foam. But the application isn’t live yet, and the old foam is already gone. If the county wants to refill the tank, it will cost more than $200,000 upfront, with hope of future reimbursement.
“My feeling is, if there's money available, you have to spend it in emergency services. You don't just wait for something to happen and say we'll reimburse you," Trentacost said. "Here we are in the most densely populated area in the country, and I can't put out an oil fire.”
Some replacement foam on the market uses soybeans. It’s become a hot commodity.
“You’re going to use more foam to put the fires out than what we’re traditionally used to," said Trentacost.
“The state of New Jersey doesn’t manufacture foam," said John Wisniewski, the vice chair of the NJ Fire Safety Commission. "It’s manufactured by private industry. Because nationwide there is this replacement going on, it’s not as robustly available.”
DEP says the application for reimbursement should go online by the end of the year. The 16 Passaic County chiefs are meeting Tuesday with the county to figure out the best way forward.
