MONTPELIER — For decades, firefighters had been using a certain type of foam to fight fires. While this foam helped save lives, state regulators recently discovered per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Type B Aqueous Film Forming Foam, known as AFFF.
PFAS is a toxic chemical that affects human health and the environment. To protect firefighters, communities and drinking water supplies, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Division of Fire Safety are working alongside fire departments to safely dispose of this foam and transition to a new foam.
Any Fire Department with less than 220 pounds of foam (approximately five 5-gallon pails) can make an appointment to drop these containers off at any of the following locations:
•  Addison County Solid Waste Management District HazWaste Center, 1223 Route 7 in Middlebury. Call or email Don Maglienti at 802-388-2333, [email protected].
•  Rutland County Solid Waste District, Household Hazardous Waste Depot, Gleason Road Transfer Station, 14 Gleason Road in Rutland.  Call or email Deane Wilson at 802-775-7209, [email protected].
•  Chittenden Solid Waste District Environmental Depot, 1011 Airport Parkway in South Burlington.  Call 802-865-4663 or email Gary Winnie at [email protected].
•  Northeast Kingdom Solid Waste District Lyndonville Recycling Center 224 Church St. in Lyndonville. Call or email Paul Tomasi at 802-626-3532, [email protected].
•  Northwest Solid Waste District Georgia Recycling Center 158 Morse Drive in Fairfax. Call or email Rich Backer at 802-524-5986, [email protected].
For any fire department that has more than 220 pounds of AFFF, special arrangements will need to be made through the state to have this material picked up at the fire station. Contact DEC’s Waste Management & Prevention Division at 802-828-1138 for more information.
After the discovery of PFAS in drinking water in Bennington, DEC developed a statewide PFAS sampling plan to investigate possible locations and sources of PFAS. This foam takeback program is one of several DEC-led initiatives to the address risks to human health and the environment. DEC officials have already tested several locations where PFAS was used, including wire-coating facilities, semi-conductor facilities, battery manufacturing facilities, and airports. The sampling plan is located on DEC’s website.