An Indian-origin scientist-led team claims to have developed a groundbreaking treatment which
can break down the remnants of toxic firefighting foam -- thus preventing water and soil pollution.
The Australian team's achievement comes in response to growing global concern over the cancer and environmental risks from long-lasting chemicals in the foams used internationally
to control petrol and other fires at tens of thousands of sites worldwide during the past half century.
According to lead scientist of CRC CARE Prof Ravi Naidu, the advance is based on the use of modified natural materials which break down the fire-fighting foam chemicals into harmless substances.
"Worldwide, people have been using these foams for fighting fires and fire drills for decades. Anywhere modern fire services operate, there is a risk of long-lasting contamination which may need to be cleaned up. It is to
Australia's credit we have been able to come up with a promising answer to this global problem.
"It is the first practical, cost-effective clean-up solution to the large-scale water and soil pollution caused by decades of foam use all over the world," said Prof Naidu.The CRC team has developed a new substance called MatCARETM to treat the contaminated wastewater left after a fire site or practice area has been hosed down.
"Both PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate) and PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) increase effectiveness of the foam as a fire quencher. However, both are highly toxic chemicals and,
if they enter local water sources can accumulate up the food chain, including in humans.
"PFOS accumulates in the liver and blood. In US animal studies PFOS has been linked to bladder cancer, liver cancer, and developmental and reproductive toxicity including neonatal
mortality," team member Dr Venkata Kambala said.
"There are over 49 000 airports around the world, including 450 civilian and military airports in Australia alone. Many of these have used foam in fire-fighting exercises for many years, as well as in actual aircraft fires, and the chemicals have been subsequently detected in nearby groundwater and streams," he added.