Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2025-12-05 Origin: Site
Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) has been a cornerstone of fuel-fire suppression in naval aviation and shipboard firefighting for decades—especially where jet fuel and other flammable liquids create fast-moving, high-heat emergencies. Today, much of the concern around “AFFF exposure in the Navy” centers on the PFAS chemicals historically used in many fluorinated foams, the ways sailors and civilians may have come into contact with them, and how the Navy is transitioning toward alternatives.
AFFF is a Class B firefighting foam designed for flammable liquid hazards. When proportioned with water and applied correctly, traditional AFFF can rapidly spread across hydrocarbon fuel surfaces, helping knock down flames and suppress vapors to reduce re-ignition risk.
Because naval operations involve aviation fuel handling, hangar bays, flight decks, fuel farms, and shore-based aircraft rescue and firefighting environments, AFFF has been widely used across shipboard and shore facility fire suppression systems, firefighting vehicles, and training facilities.
Potential exposure isn’t limited to major fire events. In Navy environments, AFFF contact can occur during routine readiness activities, equipment testing, system maintenance, and cleanup operations after foam discharge.
Hangar bays and aviation facilities: Foam sprinkler system tests, accidental discharges, or washdowns after exercises can create direct contact and aerosolized mist.
Shipboard firefighting systems: Use or testing of installed suppression systems and subsequent deck or compartment cleanup.
Shore installations and training areas: Live-fire training, drills, and equipment demonstrations where foam runoff may spread beyond the immediate application zone.
Fuel storage, transfer, and maintenance zones: Areas where ignitable liquids are present and foam is staged or used for emergency response.
Many fluorinated Class B foams (including AFFF and AR-AFFF) contain PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). PFAS are often discussed as “persistent” chemicals because many compounds can remain in the environment and move through water.
Health research is still evolving, but major public agencies note that exposure to certain PFAS may be associated with adverse outcomes, and that understanding varies by compound, dose, and exposure duration.
In practical terms, PFAS-related exposure may happen through multiple pathways around foam use—such as direct contact with foam solution, ingestion of contaminated water, or inhalation of aerosols during discharge and cleanup. Guidance documents emphasize using appropriate PPE to minimize direct contact, ingestion, and inhalation during foam handling and response activities.
It’s also important to understand that exposure risk can differ based on task and frequency. For example, personnel involved in repeated testing, cleanup, or training evolutions may experience different exposure profiles than those present for a single emergency response.
AR-AFFF Foam stands for Alcohol-Resistant Aqueous Film-Forming Foam. It is used for Class B incidents involving both:
Hydrocarbon fuels (water-immiscible) like gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and kerosene.
Polar solvents (water-miscible) such as alcohols, ketones, esters, acetone, and similar chemicals that can break down a standard foam blanket. :contentReference[oaicite:13]{index=13}
In other words: if the hazard includes water-miscible fuels that “eat” ordinary foam, AR-AFFF is often the specified choice because it can form a protective barrier that helps the foam blanket survive on those fuels.
Exact formulations vary by manufacturer and certification requirements, but reputable product literature consistently describes AR-AFFF as a mixture designed to create both a fast-spreading film on hydrocarbon fuels and a polymeric barrier on polar solvents.
Fluorosurfactants: Help reduce surface tension and support film formation and rapid spreading on hydrocarbon fuels.
Hydrocarbon surfactants: Contribute to foaming and blanket stability (often used alongside fluorosurfactants in fluorinated foams).
Polymers / polysaccharides (alcohol-resistant agents): Form a protective membrane/“raft” that helps prevent foam breakdown on polar solvent fires.
Solvents and water: Support concentrate handling, proportioning performance, and low-temperature behavior (varies by product).
Polar solvents are water-miscible and can destabilize ordinary foam blankets. AR-AFFF addresses this by using polymer chemistry that creates a barrier between the fuel surface and the foam blanket, helping preserve vapor suppression and cooling long enough for effective knockdown.
Not all AFFF inventories are the same. Technical guidance distinguishes legacy PFOS-based formulations, fluorotelomer-based formulations, and more modern short-chain variants, each with different PFAS profiles and environmental behaviors.
For example, older stock may contain PFOS or include manufacturing byproducts and precursor compounds that can transform in the environment, while newer foams are often described as using short-chain (e.g., “C6”) chemistry—though “short-chain” does not automatically mean “risk-free.”
The Navy has publicly described steps to phase out fluorinated AFFF due to environmental concerns, health-risk discussions, and regulatory requirements. A Naval Safety Command publication summarizing NDAA FY2020 provisions describes milestones including: releasing a fluorine-free specification, restricting acquisition of foam above a very low PFAS threshold, and prohibiting fluorinated AFFF use at military sites by a deadline.
The same Navy safety publication lists several alternatives discussed for certain hangar contexts, such as ignitable liquid drainage floors, high-expansion foam systems, trench nozzle systems, water-only sprinkler conversions, optical flame detectors, and water mist sprinklers—each with pros and cons depending on mission, facility design, and fire code compliance.
If you served in the Navy (or worked on Navy installations) and you’re trying to understand potential AFFF exposure, start with a practical evidence checklist. You don’t need perfect records—just enough to reconstruct “where, when, and how” contact could have happened.
Duty locations and work areas: Hangars, flight decks, crash crews, shipboard fire parties, fuel farms, ARFF units, or facilities with foam sprinkler systems.
Tasks and frequency: System testing, training events, foam handling, cleanup/washdown responsibilities, or maintenance involving foam concentrate.
Foam type if known: AFFF vs AR-AFFF Foam, proportioning rates, manufacturer/SDS references, or procurement logs when available.
Incident context: Spill/fire responses, drills, accidental discharges, and any captured runoff or wastewater handling steps.
From a safety standpoint, guidance emphasizes minimizing direct contact and preventing ingestion or inhalation during foam handling, deployment, and cleanup. Proper PPE and decontamination planning can reduce unnecessary contact—especially in scenarios involving repeated training or system testing.
For facilities, best-practice guidance commonly focuses on containment of runoff, avoiding unnecessary discharges (especially for training), and maintaining systems to prevent leaks—because even small releases can spread through water pathways.
AR-AFFF Foam is a type of Class B foam with added alcohol-resistant performance. It is designed to work on both hydrocarbon fuels and polar solvents by forming a polymeric membrane on water-miscible fuels while still providing film behavior on hydrocarbon fuels.
While formulas differ by brand, AR-AFFF Chemical composition is commonly described as a combination of surfactants (including fluorosurfactants in fluorinated products), alcohol-resistant polymers/polysaccharides, solvents, and water—engineered to create a stable foam blanket and protective barrier on challenging fuels.