Ohio officials announced an expansion of the state Aqueous Film-Forming Foam Takeback Program on Thursday, funded by more than $13 million in DuPont settlement money, to help local fire departments and airports permanently destroy toxic PFAS-containing firefighting foam.
Expanding the Aqueous Film-Forming Foam Takeback Program Across Ohio
Ohio is ramping up its statewide effort to eliminate hazardous firefighting foam from local stocks. Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Director John Logue announced that more than $13 million from a recent DuPont settlement will directly fund the next phase of the Aqueous Film-Forming Foam Takeback Program.
The initiative allows eligible fire departments, emergency management agencies, and airports to surrender old supplies of AFFF for safe destruction at no cost to the participating organizations. State officials set a registration deadline of Sept. 4, 2026, for agencies wanting to participate in the upcoming round.
“Until we launched this program, fire departments in Ohio had no way to safely get rid of this foam, and we didn’t have an accounting of how much foam could still be out there. Now we know that there is a lot.”
Gov. Mike DeWine, via Spectrumnews1
Aqueous film-forming foam was widely utilized by airports and municipal departments to smother intense blazes involving flammable liquids like gasoline and oil. However, mounting evidence regarding environmental persistence led many agencies to seek alternatives. These firefighting substances contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, synthetic compounds that degrade extremely slowly and earn the designation forever chemicals
because they persist in soil, air, and water.
Tracking Progress and the Scale of the Contamination
Since the state launched the initial phase of the program in 2024, participating agencies have surrendered substantial quantities of the hazardous material. Records show that 118 fire departments and two airports have turned over 13,500 gallons of toxic firefighting foam for permanent destruction.
Despite that progress, regulatory estimates suggest that the state’s cleanup is only scratching the surface. The Ohio EPA calculates that at least 60,000 gallons of toxic AFFF remain stored in facilities across the state.
“We’re expanding the AFFF Takeback Program to help more local fire departments responsibly dispose of these dangerous PFAS chemicals to protect the public, the environment and the firefighters who risk their lives for the safety of others.”
Gov. Mike DeWine, via Spectrumnews1
Health authorities warn that exposure to these substances carries significant physiological risks. According to the Ohio Department of Health, contact with PFAS can negatively impact the immune system, increase the risk of certain cancers, affect human fertility, and interfere with the normal growth and development of infants and children.
Destruction Technology and Broader State Environmental Policy
The push to eliminate firefighting foam represents one pillar of a wider state strategy aimed at reducing chemical exposure across Ohio. Previous administrative measures included testing public drinking-water systems, surveying major river systems for contamination, and prohibiting the deployment of AFFF during routine firefighter training exercises.
The initial round of the takeback initiative relied on $3 million secured through a polychlorinated biphenyl enforcement case against Monsanto. During that phase, the Ohio EPA awarded funds to Revive Environmental, a firm utilizing Battelle’s PFAS Annihilator technology to permanently destroy the hazardous material.
“The past two years have shown how dedication, innovation and collaboration continue to be fundamental pillars in our state. This partnership has taken thousands and thousands of gallons of harmful ‘forever chemicals’ permanently out of commission, and we’re taking what we learned and building on that momentum to expand this program into its next round.”
John Logue, Ohio EPA Director, via Spectrumnews1
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