Firefighting foam from a fire suppression system that malfunctioned Monday in a hangar at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station covers an area near Picnic Pond (background) Tuesday morning. Photo by Steve Walker/ Brunswick Topsham Land Trust
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention is warning people not to eat fish from four bodies of water on and near the former Brunswick Naval Air Station because Navy tests last October revealed elevated levels of dangerous chemicals.
Elevated levels of PFAS have been found in fish tissue from Mere Brook (also known as Mare Brook), Merriconeag Stream, Picnic Pond and Site 8 Stream, all of which are east of the base that closed in 2011. The base is now called Brunswick Landing and is home to hundreds of residents and businesses, including the Brunswick Executive Airport.
The Navy conducted the tests in coordination with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in October 2023 and forwarded the data to the Maine CDC in spring 2024, Lindsay Hammes, spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a prepared statement Friday.
The CDC warning follows the accidental release of 1,450 gallons of firefighting foam concentrate early Monday at Brunswick Executive Airport when a fire suppression system failed. The foam spread via wind and the stormwater system into drains, sewer manholes and nearby ponds. The CDC said the accidental release of aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) at the former naval air base “is not expected to impact the warning issued today.”
“The waters likely affected by the AFFF disaster are located on the east side of the airport runway,” the CDC said. “Today’s warning recommends avoiding consumption of these waters based on previous testing data.”
In response to the oil spill, the CDC is also advising people to avoid any contact with the foam on these waters.
“Out of an abundance of caution, Maine CDC also recommends that the public refrain from any recreational activities (e.g., swimming, boating, wading) that could result in contact with the foam or water until the potential impacts of the AFFF release on these waters are fully assessed,” the statement said.
The toxic foam contains hazardous chemicals (PFAS) used in many common household and industrial products. Even trace amounts of some of these man-made chemicals are considered a public health risk by federal authorities and may be linked to various cancers and immune problems.
In addition to recommending not eating fish at the four sites, the Maine CDC advises not to eat more than six meals of any fish per year between Coffin Ice Pond and the western edge of the runway.
The public should avoid any contact with the foam and refrain from swimming, boating and wading in these waters “until the potential impacts of the release (of the aqueous film-forming foam) to these waters are fully assessed,” the Maine CDC reported.
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