ILTA Attends Fire Fighting Foam Summit

ILTA participated in an international event to discuss the global transition away from firefighting foams based on PFAS chemistries. Held in Paris September 15-17, the summit was hosted by LASTFIRE, a research group originally formed a consortium of 16 oil companies a project was initiated in the late 1990s to review the risks associated with large diameter open top floating roof storage tanks. Since then, LASTFIRE has become the leading research organization for testing and demonstration of firefighting foams, application equipment, and firefighting techniques for fire events involving aboveground storage tanks.

Presenters at the event included firefighting professionals and experts with direct experience in transitioning their facilities to fluorine-free foams, including Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. Representatives of foam manufacturers and foam application equipment described progress and remaining challenges involved in a transition to alternative foams. Government officials from Queensland, Australia and the European Union described policies under development to discontinue use of PFAS foams.