Andy Spence, Joint Managing Director of Britannia Fire, the leading manufacturer of fire extinguishers in the UK, last week addressed the Environmental Audit Committee in the House of Commons.
He highlighted the significant challenges facing the fire safety industry in achieving a smooth transition away from PFAS firefighting foam.
Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), widely used in firefighting foams, are under scrutiny due to their environmental impact and health risks. Known as ‘forever’ chemicals, they do not degrade easily in the environment. Research has also indicated that they can lead to a range of health issues, including decreased fertility, developmental delays in children, a higher risk of certain cancers and immune system suppression, which is why the European Union is phasing them out of firefighting foam and implementing a total ban by 2030.
The UK is yet to announce a ban but is expected to follow suit later this year. While the Committee investigates whether the UK is doing enough to address the risks, Spence told MPs that a successful phaseout of PFAS fire extinguishers will be dependent on several limiting factors:
• Disposal bottlenecks – with only two UK-approved facilities able to incinerate PFAS foam waste, backlogs are growing and will only get worse. Units contaminated with PFAS cannot be reused or recycled, further compounding the issue.
• Increasing costs – as demand for compliant disposal grows, so too will the associated costs.
• Customer confusion – many end-users remain unclear on what is already banned, what will be banned, and what steps they should be taking now.
He confirmed, however, that the industry has made huge strides to reduce its environmental impact. Spence told the Committee that there are now PFAS free alternatives on the market enabling customers to easily make the switch, including Britannia Fire’s innovative and environmentally friendly P50 fire extinguishers:
“At Britannia Fire, we recognised the detrimental effects of PFAS some time ago and successfully removed them from all our products last year. We’ve been leading the way and pushing the rest of the industry to follow suit.
“Our P50 fire extinguishers meet all required standards, are PFAS free, fully recyclable and have a significantly lower carbon footprint than traditional metal extinguishers. They are also multi-purpose meaning less units are required, and do not require costly annual servicing.”
He continued “The fire industry is committed to sustainability and safety, but the road to a PFAS-free future is complex. Whilst there are good alternatives now on the market, there are still a number of challenges that the industry must overcome.
“We’re calling for urgent action to streamline disposal methods, for example, potentially extracting water from foam to reduce incineration volumes, and a review of existing servicing requirements which could enable a more flexible and realistic phaseout timeline.”
To support end-users during this transition, Spence is suggesting that businesses make the switch sooner rather than later: “By moving early, businesses will avoid inflated disposal and replacement costs.”
