Marine Corps releases report on circumstances surrounding the activation and release of fire suppression system in Hangar 539 at Air Station Futenma
FOIA results detail a comedy of errors following the April 10, 2020 accident
By Pat Elder December 20, 2021
Firefighting foam spill - large amount still scattered overnight
(The Red Hill fuel spill in Hawaii was initially caused by a leak in the facility’s AFFF fire suppression system, drawing public attention to the likelihood of these carcinogenic foam dispensing systems to malfunction. Last year’s massive suppression system release of carcinogenic foam at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa provides insight into the environmental terrorism inherent in these systems.)
Military Poisons has received the results of a Freedom of Information Act request for a copy of the command investigation into circumstances surrounding the activation and release of the fire suppression system in Hangar 539 at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa on April 10, 2020. It took them 17 months to respond.
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The U.S. Marines play the fool in this tragicomedy of catastrophic and amusing elements.
On April 10, 2020 at 4:34 pm, U.S. Marines, who were sequestered in Hangar 539 at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, lit a barbeque using charcoal and lighter fluid. The barbecue grill was on the flight line,10-20 feet west of the open hangar. The USO had supplied hot dogs and hamburgers to boost morale.
The fire detection and aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) fire suppression system went off the second the charcoal was ignited. AFFF contains carcinogenic per- and poly fluoroalkyl substances, PFAS.
The prolific foam machine cranked out 3,000 gallons-per-minute of AFFF. The fire suppression system ran for 28 minutes resulting in the release of an estimated 41,200 gallons of a mixture consisting of 97% water and 3% AFFF, and an additional 20,000 gallons of only water.
The toxic bubble machine accumulated foam to shoulder-high levels in the cavernous hangar and it extended out across the flight line. Foam could be seen blowing off base. This was an environmental disaster and it still is.
Local press reported that residents in the Kakazu neighborhood saw large amounts of foam floating on Uchidomari River. The foam was picked up by a strong easterly wind and covered “everything,” including homes.
The Marines couldn’t figure out how to turn the system off. It’s not surprising, considering that fire warden training does not include material about AFFF fire detection or suppression systems.
The way the command tells it, “No one understood the operation mechanism of the abort buttons distributed throughout Hangar 539.” At approximately 4:35 pm, a minute after igniting the charcoal, Marines pressed one of five fire suppression system abort buttons and held it down for one and a half minutes. Over the next 20 minutes, various individuals pressed and released one or more of the buttons over seventeen times.
Nothing.
Signage around the abort buttons in Hangar 539 was not in accordance with the most recent regulations which require posting an explanation on how to properly operate the “Abort Foam System” buttons near the buttons.
Whatever. This is pathetic and it is criminal. There’s no grownup in the room!
The thing created acres of foamy toxic bubbles because they couldn’t figure out how to shut it down.
All of this is particularly disturbing because four months prior, on December 5, 2019, Hangar 507 on the Futenma base experienced a 10,000 gallon leak of AFFF. Pretty much the same deal. The thing went off because a Marine mistakenly started an auxiliary power unit (APU) on a Bell AH-1Z Viper helicopter. 10,000 gallons were released. They couldn’t figure out how to shut the thing down.
Yadi-yadi-ya.
The Marines didn’t learn their lesson and neither have the other branches. These AFFF systems continue to go off when there are no fires at US military installations worldwide.
(More below on the 12/5/19 release)
Almost immediately, the command directed the Marines to close the hangar doors to contain the AFFF from being released into the environment, but Hangar 539’s doors had been inoperable for ten years. The hangar doors only open and close with a tug vehicle and cargo straps, not something that can be arranged in a few frantic moments.
Military hangars are fitted with underground storage tanks (UST’s) that collect water and contaminants from drains in the hangar. Prior to the AFFF release, the Marines tell us, the UST at Hangar 539 already contained approximately 8,000-10,000 gallons of water due to the hangar door’s inability to close. Rain entered the hangar and was collected in the UST.
The UST for Hangar 539 can hold 30,557 gallons of liquid, which is just 10 minutes of AFFF mixture discharge at 3,000 gallons per minute. When the UST quickly filled to capacity, AFFF backed up into the hangar’s drains and the foamy water was pushed up through seams and holes in the two manholes in the top of the UST and spilled out onto the grass and lovely Okinawa.
41,200 gallons of AFFF escaped. The carcinogenic material flowed through 750 meters of concrete storm water channels on base. Then, it entered 1.65 km of underground storm water channels off base, into the Uchidomari River, and 2.35 km to Makiko Bay.
The foamy water flowed out of sewer pipes (red x) from the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. The runway is shown on the right. The Uchidomari River (in blue) carries the toxins to Makiko Bay on the East China Sea.
The Marines brought in a pumper truck to remove AFFF waste from the UST. The materials were sent to the mainland for incineration. The Marines say the primary hazardous waste concern is the requirement to dispose of AFFF waste via incineration at one of the 13 facilities permitted by the government of Japan. It’s not clear how the Marines would prefer to “dispose” the PFAS-laden foams.
Disposal of PFAS is a concept that people just can’t seem to get their heads around. We can’t dispose of it without endangering human life. We can’t spread it on farm fields and we can’t bury it and we can’t burn it. We’re in trouble.
Three Marines were topically exposed to AFFF. Mild symptoms associated with AFFF exposure were experienced (headache, skin irritation). The Marines were directed to rinse AFFF off. No Marines left the scene or went to the hospital due to AFFF exposure. No big deal. This section represents a central tenant of the Pentagon’s misinformation campaign. PFAS is an irritant.
The Marines display a cavalier attitude
The Marines: The potential environmental impacts from the AFFF release are limited to the last 2.35 km of the Uchidomari River before it flows into Makiko Bay and then the ocean.
Military Poisons: The environmental impacts include the land on base and the streams and soils and sediment and the groundwater that are forever contaminated. The poisons reach into the Makiko Bay and into the East China Sea. PFOS is known to travel 20 miles or further. The fish and the shellfish are all contaminated.
Ryuko Shimpo newspaper sampled river water near the Futenma base over the next three days and found 247.2 parts per trillion (ppt) of PFOS/PFOA in the Uchidomari River. Seawater from the Makiminato fishing port contained 41.0 ppt of the toxins. The river had 13 varieties of PFAS that are believed to be contained in the military’s aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF). The European Union has set a regulatory limit of .65 ppt for the compounds in surface waters and that’s because PFOS is wildly bio-accumulative in fish. The Europeans say they are most concerned with the propensity of PFOS in fish to diminish the impact immunization has on the human body. It’s a big deal as the Omicron variant sweeps the earth.
Fish from Okinawa show concentrations of PFOS above 100 ng/g. That’s 100,000 parts per trillion. Meanwhile, Japan has a combined safety threshold of 50 ppt for PFOS and PFOA in its drinking water. The threshold is not law, but a quality standard guideline. The United States' threshold is 70 ppt.
The Marines: Given the rate of flow in the Uchidomari River and the significant amount of rain received in the day following the release, there is unlikely to be any residual concentrations of PFAS in river water, and minimal concentrations in sediment in the river.
Military Poisons: Show us the science. 38,000 gallons of 3% AFFF flowed into the river and you say there should be no trace of PFAS in river water as a result of your activities. You say there are “minimal concentrations” in sediment in the river. Our definitions of minimal concentrations likely differ by orders of magnitude.
The Marines: It is unknown how far into the bay elevated concentrations of PFAS extended and whether PFAS from this event contaminated sediment in the bay and/or ocean.
Military Poisons: Okinawan authorities must independently launch a robust water and fish testing regime as a first step in protecting public health.
The Marines: Based on current scientific evidence, no determination is possible regarding this AFFF release’s impact on fish or other aquatic animals in the area.
Military Poisons: This isn’t true. A $79 water test kit can provide the concentrations of PFAS analytes in the water within 1-2 parts per trillion. The science is evolving to the point where we can come close to predicting levels of contamination in some fish based on ambient water levels. Okinawa is in trouble.
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The European Food Safety Authority estimates that up to 86% of the PFAS in our bodies is from the food we eat, especially the fish and seafood, although the DOD and the EPA focus much of their PFAS efforts on drinking water.
The Marines make it very clear that the Hangar 539 release did not affect drinking water sources as Ginowan receives drinking water from the Chatan Water Treatment Plant. Chatan receives its raw water from reservoirs in northern Okinawa, the Hija River, and ocean desalination. Even if these sources contained PFAS it can be filtered out for drinking water purposes.
The Marines state, “The primary route of exposure is oral ingestion, usually from contaminated drinking water. The risk of exposure from dermal and inhalation routes is considered minor. At common levels found in contaminated drinking water, these risks are considered long term risks, not short term.”
There is so much wrong with this. The primary route of exposure is from food, while the municipal water systems treat water for PFAS compounds. PFAS in drinking water is becoming less and less of a problem around the world because we know how to deal with it. On the other hand, we don’t know what to do about the rivers that flow with these perpetual poisons.
It is stone-hearted for the Marines to say that PFAS exposure from inhalation is considered minor when the mess they create is routinely sent to incinerators on the mainland. Burning PFAS creates airborne carcinogenic dust that settles on lovely Japanese homes and farms. The stuff doesn’t burn!
The military uses a lot of PFAS, especially in wire coating and chrome plating. Their sewer drains must be closely monitored. High levels of PFAS have been documented in streams passing by wastewater treatment plants on naval installations. They are in the practice of carelessly flushing the stuff down the drain. It must stop,
The Marines did not take a financial hit as a result of the spill. No significant damage was incurred to aircraft, equipment, hangar, or facilities. The initial estimate of the cost of this incident, including disposal and replacement of absorbents, civilian person-hours, and disposal of AFFF-contaminated water, is $240,000.
They got off cheap and that’s because there are no special hazards or precautions required in properly handling the hazardous waste materials used to contain, absorb, and clean up the AFFF and water. They got off cheap because the Japanese are imperial subjects, like Germans and Marylanders.
December 5, 2019 AFFF release at Futenma.
On December 5, 2019 at 2:45 pm, a Marine started an auxiliary power unit (APU) on a Bell AH-1Z Viper helicopter. There is no explicit prohibition on starting an auxiliary power unit, although it is well known by the command and squadron personnel that a hangar does not provide proper ventilation for an APU.
Eight Marines were exposed to the AFFF, although the command says there were no injuries. The flight surgeon said exposure to AFFF is of low concern.
The AFFF was witnessed in a drainage ditch and it reached storm drains that lead to the Uchidomari River. It took the Marines 12-15 minutes to figure out how to shut down the AFFF system.
300 gallons of legacy AFFF concentrate were dispersed resulting in the formation of 10,000 gallons. The command says there was - and will be “minimal impact” on the environment and geographic area.
They just don’t get it.
The Marines say they recovered 10,000 gallons of AFFF and stored it in underground storage tanks. Chemguard C-603 6% legacy foam was used. Legacy foams typically contain high levels of long-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including PFOS.
Since September, 2017, the Navy has been in the process of removing legacy AFFF and replacing it with the less carcinogenic AFFF. Apparently, they had not gotten around to switching out the foams at Futenma by December, 2019.
The AFFF used at Futenma does not comply with Japanese environmental standards. The Okinawans would like to see the Marines switch to the fluorine-free foams, although immense, irreversible damage has already been done.
The AFFF system continued to release foam after the abort button was pressed. There were multiple personnel who pressed the AFFF abort button several times before someone showed up to unlock Building 507B where the system was finally shut down. No one had the key to Building 507B. AFFF accumulated to knee-high depths. It was not fully contained due to the wind, rain and accumulation. Some of the AFF blew away or got washed into storm drains.
It’ll happen again. The systems are fragile.
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Back to Hawaii
The Navy shows similar disdain for the environment at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu. The Red Hill fuel spill was initially caused by a leak in the facility’s AFFF fire suppression system. We don’t know how much PFAS was released, if any, although it could be historic.
We need your help paying for petroleum and PFAS water testing kits for activists who are ready to collect tap water and surface water samples in Honolulu.
We must test the water. We represent independent, third-party testing. The Navy is the first party, but we don’t trust them. The state is the second party, and they can be moved to do more to protect public health with our third-party, independent testing. Please help us with this.