Workers clean up firefighting foam containing forever chemicals that was discharged at Brunswick Executive Airport on Aug. 19. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer, file

Maine’s federal lawmakers are asking the U.S. Navy for help cleaning up last month’s accidental release of toxic firefighting chemicals that the Navy left behind at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station, the largest such spill in Maine in at least 30 years.

In a joint letter Monday, U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, a Republican, and Angus King, an independent, joined U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, and Jared Golden, D-2nd District, to ask Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro for a briefing on the Navy’s involvement in the cleanup at Brunswick Executive Airport.

“Our constituents are deeply concerned about the short- and long-term health and environmental impacts of this spill, as well as potential future incidents, since AFFF foam remains at the site,” the delegation wrote. “We ask for your commitment to coordinating with federal, state, and local partners in providing assistance.”

On Aug. 19, a fire suppression system with a deficient service record malfunctioned and accidentally discharged more than 51,000 gallons of toxic aqueous film-forming foam, or AFFF, meant to douse high-intensity fuel fires in a hangar at Brunswick Executive Airport.

The leftover Navy foam had a high concentration of a particularly toxic “forever chemical,” or PFAS. The public water supply is still safe to drink. The state is testing nearby private wells. But the stormwater that drains into Harpswell Cove and the sewer water that drains into the Androscoggin River both tested high.

Even trace amounts of some PFAS are considered a public health risk, according to federal regulators. High exposure over a long time can cause cancer. Exposure during critical life stages, such as in early childhood, can also cause life-changing harm, including immune deficiency.

Much of the former naval base is now overseen by the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, a quasi-public state-appointed organization. The Navy retains ownership over certain areas, however, including the hangar where the spill occurred. It was slated to remove that foam Monday.

“We have been informed that the Navy had planned to remove the fire suppression system at Hangar 4,” the lawmakers wrote. “We are further concerned that thousands of gallons of AFFF remain on site as part of the fire suppression systems in additional hangars at Brunswick Landing.”

The lawmakers called the matter an urgent and growing national public health and environmental threat.

In 2019, Maine’s congressional delegation voted to require the U.S. Department of Defense to stop using AFFF after Oct. 1 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. One year ago, the DOD announced it had approved the first fluorine-free firefighting foam for commercial use at military bases and airports.