New technology will be used to destroy PFAS "forever" chemicals

On March 18, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine launched a first-of-its-kind initiative to destroy hazardous per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in firefighting foam. Bluffton Fire Department chief Jon Kinn confirms that foam of this kind will be turned in to the program.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency will provide a new Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) Takeback Program. AFFF is primarily used by fire departments to smother flammable liquid fires, but its high concentrations of PFAS compounds–often called "forever" chemicals– resist typical environmental degradation processes and cause long-term contamination of water, soil, and air.

Using PFAS Annihilator® technology developed by Battelle, which is headquartered in Columbus, the AFFF Takeback Program will destroy PFAS in firefighting foam to non-detectable levels through the process of supercritical water oxidation.