The Maine CDC is advising the public not to consume freshwater fish from four nearby waterbodies after firefighting foam containing harmful PFAS chemicals was accidentally discharged at the former naval airbase in Brunswick earlier this week.
The public should not consume or should limit the consumption of freshwater fish from Mere Brook, the Merriconeag Stream, Picnic Pond, and what's known as the site 8 stream, located northeast of the runway at the Brunswick Executive Airport.
The new advisories are based on historic data collected before Monday's spill, the CDC said. Fish were sampled back in October 2023, and the data was shared with state health officials this past spring. The CDC detected elevated levels of PFAS from those historic data and said the most recent environmental accident is not expected to impact the new advisories issued Friday.
The public should also stay away from the foam and avoid swimming and boating on these waterbodies, the CDC added.
Meanwhile, cleanup efforts continue at and around the site of the former naval airbase.
Contractors will clean the buildings, including Hangar 4, where the firefighting foam, known as AFFF, was concentrated, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection said Friday afternoon.
Surface water samples will taken every day for the next week. The DEP said it continues to believe that recent spill will not impact nearby wells.
"We understand the concerns expressed by the community given the foam’s visibility," the department said in a statement. "The Maine DEP and the Environmental Protection Agency have been studying the former Brunswick Naval Air Station for 30 years and are familiar with hydrogeology on the site. Although the site has a history of PFAS contamination, DEP continues to believe that the recently released material will not impact any nearby wells. The Brunswick-Topsham Water District has confirmed that the public water supply has not been impacted by this incident."
