New Jersey works to destroy firefighting foam laced with cancer-linked PFAS: "It was like sitting on a bomb"

Source: CBS News

July 11, 2026 / 9:38 PM EDT


Burlington County, New Jersey — Hundreds of New Jersey fire departments are getting rid of foam proven to put out flames. Why? "It was like sitting on a bomb," Jacobstown Volunteer Fire Chief Robert Gancarz told CBS News. "How am I going to get rid of this?"

Jacobstown's fire station had used a firefighting foam called aqueous film-forming foam, or AFFF, since the mid-1980s. Gancarz eagerly got rid of all 580 gallons of it. "The very tools I am using can cause health problems," Gancarz said. "They can kill you."

AFFF is also laced with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS, commonly called "forever chemicals." Studies link AFFF exposure to higher cancer rates among firefighters.

New Jersey is one of more than a dozen states that are working to collect, remove and destroy all of their AFFF. The state has so far collected more than 150,000 gallons from fire stations. All of it has been trucked to Revive Environmental, an Ohio company that specializes in PFAS destruction.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-jersey-destroy-firefighting-foam-cancer-linked-pfas/