Green Daily

Firefighters often use a foam to douse a fire instead of water because it reduces the damage water can do to property. They are also useful in fighting petroleum-based fires. The foams have been used for decades, but any made before 2002 likely include PFOs and PFOAs. PFO is a chemical from the family of perfluorochemicals.

They do not break down in water or in humans and animals. The chemicals, used frequently in 3M products until 2002, have been shown to do liver damage, cause birth defects and impair growth in off-spring of animals that were exposed to the chemical while pregnant. It's They are also likely carcinogens.

While 3M no longer makes products with PFOs, fire departments have stockpiles of the foam containing these chemicals, and recent testing in Minnesota shows that the chemical is entering surface water, and staying there. The levels in several suburban, natural lakes were well above state health guidelines. The chemicals likely arrived in the water via the sewer systems: waste water treatment plants aren't designed to remove PFOAs.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will begin testing communities around the state to see if groundwater has been affected. Firefighting News believes this could have national implications.