New Jersey Fire Departments Remove 150,000 Gallons of PFAS Foam and Switch to Soybean-Based Alternative

Hundreds of New Jersey fire departments are removing aqueous film-forming foam from their stations. The state has collected more than 150,000 gallons of the foam and transported all of it to Revive Environmental in Ohio for destruction. Jacobstown Volunteer Fire Department used the foam since the mid-1980s and disposed of its remaining 580 gallons.

Chief Robert Gancarz said the decision followed concerns that the product could harm users. "It was like sitting on a bomb," he told CBS News. The foam contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as PFAS.

Studies link exposure to higher cancer rates among firefighters. New Jersey is one of more than a dozen states collecting and destroying the material. Revive Environmental processes the foam through supercritical water reactors.

CEO Rick Gillespie said the output is clean water. Jacobstown replaced the foam with a soybean-based alternative that requires slightly more volume but still extinguishes fires. Boots Gancarz, Robert Gancarz's 76-year-old father, fought fires for decades while wearing protective gear that also contained PFAS.

He was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2024. Robert Gancarz's own blood test showed PFAS levels above the national average.