Henry Abbott

On August 19, a fire suppression system at Brunswick Landing malfunctioned, spilling 1,450 gallons of PFAS-laced fire suppression foam. An unfortunate worker had to wade through foam five feet deep to turn the system off, and airborne foam has made its way to surrounding fields with runoff detected in the Androscoggin River.

A town meeting on August 29 left local residents frustrated by the lack of information provided by the owner of Brunswick Landing, the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA). One local resident accused MRRA Deputy Director Jeffrey Jordan of “filibustering,” while local newspapers reported on the State of Maine and federal Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) officials passing the buck back and forth.

Some have said Brunswick will now become the 21st-century “Love Canal,” as even trace amounts of PFAS are a health risk, and long-term exposure has been shown to cause cancer. PFAS are even more dangerous for babies and young children as exposure causes endocrine disruptions that can affect their health and development for life.

PFAS researcher Pat Elder attended the town meeting via Zoom and wrote a response that took into account several years of prior monitoring in and around Brunswick. He shared some useful advice:

“Your legislators and your town councilors are good people, likely to be trusted, but they’re on a steep learning curve right now. They’ll need some time to get up to speed.

We should understand that the seafood we consume is, by far, the number one pathway to human ingestion for these chemicals.

There was a sentiment expressed last night that we should not be adversarial, but I don’t agree. We must not underestimate our foe. The Department of Defense files ‘sovereign immunity’ responses to lawsuits in federal court. They argue they have the right to poison us without liability because of matters due to national security. We must get away from notions that these charges are tantamount to conspiracy theories or anti-militarism. This is about protecting human health. This is about creating a flow of trustworthy information, despite commercial interests and a military that has escaped civilian control.”

This is the danger those of us who oppose bluShift Aerospace operating rocket tests and launches out of Hangar 6 and elsewhere in Maine have been warning local residents about. While bluShift claims its fuel is non-toxic, it conveniently ignores that the fire suppression system is obligatory, as rockets often explode. Foam leaks have also been reported at Hangar 6.

As a Bowdoin alumna, I am sad to report that I already know of a student in Connecticut who will not be applying for admission due to the extreme environmental pollution at Bowdoin’s doorstep. I hope the College will take an active approach to demand answers and meaningful mitigation of not only the harms of this spill but those of all the old foam stored at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station—for the common good.

Lisa Savage is a member of the Class of 1977.