Isa Cruz

On August 19, a fire extinguishment system at the Brunswick Executive Airport (BXM) released 1,450 gallons of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) combined with 50,000 gallons of water out of the facility and into the surrounding area. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) swiftly responded to the spill, but Brunswick citizens and Bowdoin community members continue to worry about water contamination throughout the Brunswick area.

AFFF contains polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) because of its fire-retardant capabilities. Studies have shown PFAS can be carcinogenic. The foam’s presence at BXM can be attributed to the airport’s previous function as a naval base—the U.S. Navy required the foam as a fire retardant for fuel fires. In 2007, the Maine State Legislature created the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA) to facilitate the conversion of the former naval base to civilian use. This conversion entailed the disposal of all naval-related equipment from BXM, including the large quantities of AFFF still stored in the hangars.

The College was immediately informed of the spill on the morning of August 19, according to Director of Environmental Health and Safety Charly Wojtysiak. At this time, the College was informed that its water supply was not impacted by the spill. Bowdoin representatives were present at an August 21 news conference with state and local officials and the August 29 Brunswick Town information session about the spill that was open to the community.

Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration Matt Orlando sent an email to faculty and staff on August 21 providing information about the spill and resources from the news conference that day. Orlando then reached out to the campus community on August 28 with a brief explanation of the situation and an FAQ page that is being updated as more information about the spill becomes available.

“The College will continue to review the data and information being collected by Maine DEP as part of the spill response and clean-up efforts and follow all guidance and recommendations,” Wojtysiak wrote in an email to the Orient.

The Bowdoin Organic Garden was unaffected by any groundwater contamination, as its irrigation water is sourced from the same Brunswick and Topsham Water District (BTWD) where the campus gets its drinking water. The solar farm and surrounding area sometimes used for lab work in the Department of Environmental Studies is on the opposite side of the BXM property from the spill and upstream from contaminated runoff or surface waters.

This concern about PFAS contamination comes after an extensive controversy surrounding potential PFAS contamination from the Farley Field renovation, which sparked further research by Bowdoin students into the effects of PFAS, specifically at BXM. During the spring of 2024, Adele Metres ’24 was a member of a research seminar in the Earth and Oceanographic Sciences department, Quantitative Approaches to Research in Earth and Oceanographic Science, which assessed the spatial distribution of PFAS contamination at BXM. Additionally, she worked with the BTWD this semester and saw its response to the spill firsthand.

“Once a water supply is contaminated, especially in underground aquifers where many drinking water wells draw water from, it is very difficult to clean up the PFAS contamination,” Metres wrote in an email to the Orient. “With the Farley Fields, local residents were concerned about runoff from the fields entering into Doan Brook, which flows into Casco Bay. In the case of the recent foam spill, both surface water and groundwater aquifers could be contaminated.”

Metres believes that information dissemination during a spill or area of concern like Farley Field House is important to further public understanding.

“Science communication is always a challenge, but I think in this situation it’s important to have both clarity and nuance,” Metres wrote. “So far, I’ve been impressed with the clarity of message—the spill does not presently pose a risk to the drinking water supply—and nuance—PFAS are an issue generally, including in the Naval Air Station, and the [BTWD] is mitigating it in many ways—that the town of Brunswick has shown.”

Most recently, the Brunswick Town Council passed a resolution calling on MRRA to address the AFFF remaining in the BXM by safely removing it to avoid any spills in the future.

“I came to realize how risky this whole situation is. Another big spill could devastate Brunswick depending on which way it went,” James Ecker, Brunswick Town Councilor-at-Large, said.

Ecker was one of the primary authors of the resolution that calls for AFFF materials to be removed from Hangar 6, the hangar closest to the water supply, by September 30 and all other hangars as soon as possible. Additionally, the resolution calls for the  immediate reassessment of PFAS contamination in the BXM area and continual monitoring until the levels are below those preceding the August 19 spill. It also demands public access to MRRA reports of the spill and monthly updates on cleanup efforts.

As the town continues to respond to this situation and other environmental concerns, Town Council members like Abby Westberry, who serves on the sustainability committee, encourage students to get involved.

“If Bowdoin students are interested in getting involved with town actions around sustainability and transitioning to a more environmentally friendly community, I would recommend that they attend meetings of the Sustainability Committee or the Climate Action Taskforce,” Westberry said. “These are town committees that are actively working to respond to climate change and plan a future for the town that protects the environment.”

Editor’s note, at 5:04 p.m. on 09/08/2024: A previous version of this article reported that “50 gallons of water” was mixed with the AFFF; however, it was actually 50,000 gallons of water. Additionally, Adele Metres ’24 was incorrectly referred to as Adele “Meters.” The article has been updated to reflect these changes.