Development of Detection Method for Aqueous Film Forming Foam

摘要

Concerns have been raised about the potential environmental harm of Aqueous FilmForming Foam (AFFF) when its constituents spread to the environment with the run off from fire fighting operations or when it is discharged to wastewater treatment plants. To begin assessing the environmental impacts of AFFF, a method for detecting AFFF levels in wastewater and soil needs to be developed. The Phase 1 work focused on developing the method and determining the detection and quantification limits of the method. The method was found to be capable of detecting AFFF in a 1:120 dilution of AFFF fire fighting solution. When the source of AFFF was known, the FTIR method was able to quantify the AFFF in a 1:120 dilution of AFFF fire fighting solution.