Southern search for foam
THE search for toxic firefighting foam has spread south.
Otago Regional Council chief executive Sarah Gardner said work was under way to identify sites around Otago where the foam may have been used.
Sites could include fuel terminals, firefighter training locations and airfields.
It was possible some sites in the region still had detectable levels of PFAS, a class of manmade chemicals that have been linked to some types of cancer and other health risks, she said.
Foam containing PFOS and PFOA, the best known PFAS chemicals, was implicated in groundwater contamination around the Ohakea Air Force base last year,
The chemicals, historically used in foams for fighting fires involving petrol, were banned in 2006.
The council’s search would include work in the field to locate potentially contaminated locations, Ms Gardner said.
The council expected there to be fewer sites where the foam was used because it was more commonly found in heavily builtup and industrialised areas, such as Auckland or Wellington.
‘‘We will be working with [the Ministry for the Environment] to identify and assess sites in our region but anticipate that, unlike urban environments, our sites will be fewer in number.’’
Earlier this month, Dunedin International Airport chief executive Richard Roberts said the foam had never been used at Dunedin Airport.
‘‘As far as as we know, the foam used at Momona has never contained PFOS (perfluorooctanesulfonate).’’
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) national commander urban Paul McGill said Fenz had worked with the ministry to develop a process for identifying sites that might require further investigation.
That process had been shared with regional councils.
It could be used to investigate the use of foams containing banned chemicals at Fenz training sites across the country, including those in Oamaru, Dunedin and Invercargill and others, he said.
‘‘Our use of class B foam (which contained the banned chemicals) in training was rare and in very small quantities, due to its expense.’’