Workers clean up a Chemical spill at Brunswick Executive Airport Monday, Aug. 19. Shawn Patrick Ouellette / Portland Press Herald

The scale of the damage caused by Monday morning’s chemical spill at Brunswick Executive Airport is still being weighed, as Brunswick officials assess the fallout and eye a costly, potentially hazardous cleanup process.

The Brunswick Town Council convened Monday night, about 11 hours after a fire suppression system malfunctioned and released 1,600 gallons of firefighting foam stored inside Hangar 4.

Town officials addressed communication issues surrounding the incident and subsequent cleanup of the hangar, which is owned by Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, and gauged how agencies will respond to the mess. State lawmakers including Sen. Mattie Daughtry, Rep. Poppy Arford and Rep. Dan Ankeles also attended the meeting to offer support.

“The deployment today was our worst nightmare to have happened, just like everybody else’s,” said Kristine Logan, MRRA executive director.

Passers-by spotted the mess on Orion Street early Monday, as clumps of foam blew about Brunswick Landing and bubbled from manhole covers. Some witnesses said that cleanup efforts did not seem to prevent the foam from spreading.

“You see the foam, the suds, the bubbles — stay out of it,” said Fire Chief Ken Brillant as he briefed council Monday night and responded to concerns of contamination. He reiterated that the foam contained harmful “forever chemicals,” or PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances).

Brillant said that the department responded to an alarm at the hangar at 5:30 a.m. to find that the suppression system that disperses the foam had been triggered. A firefighter had to wade through foam — which had reached about 5 feet in height — to shut down the spill.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are involved in cleanup efforts, he said. The PFAS department within the DEP took samples from the incident for testing on Monday.

‘PFAS is one of the biggest contaminant problems that we have’

MRRA oversees operations at the airport, formerly the Brunswick Naval Air Station. The quasi-state organization attended the council meeting via Zoom Monday night and weighed in on the conversation toward the end of the evening.

Logan noted that the entity had been working to replace the AFFF solution — the aqueous film-forming foam that was released — with an alternative substance. She noted that MRRA was aware that the situation was dangerous and was equally concerned about the presence of AFFF in the hangars. The organization had been taking action — meeting with groups and speaking with researchers — to get the hazardous foam out of the building.

She also stated in the meeting that MRRA had planned to meet on Aug. 26, one week exactly from the date of the spill, with Deputy Fire Chief Josh Shean and Town Manager Julia Henze to discuss alternative solutions for the hangar. Unfortunately, she said, the spill occurred prior to that meeting.

In his brief, Brillant said MRRA is spearheading the cleanup efforts, which sparked tension at the meeting as some residents argued that the company was ill equipped to handle the chemicals.

“The fact that they are overseeing this cleanup should raise alarm,” said Restoration Advisory Board Co-chairperson Suzanne Johnson.

She said that MRRA does not have the knowledge to handle the incident and that Brunswick now has a serious environmental issue on its hands. Johnson also noted that PFAS are present in Hangar 6, which is also owned by MRRA.

“PFAS is one of the biggest contaminant problems that we have right now,” Johnson said. “This is a big, big deal, and containment is virtually impossible.”

Communication issues take a front seat

Residents and councilors frequently questioned how businesses and residents were informed of the spill. When pressed by District 5 Councilor Jennifer Hicks about communications with nearby businesses, Logan said that MRRA only posted an update to its website mid- to late-morning, and then a longer update later on the day. No messages were sent directly to businesses, she said.

Former town councilor Steve Walker said in public comment that his business on Neptune Drive received no notifications related to the spill.

“And there is a lot of astonishment by business owners out there who were never notified that there was a spill, and here’s foam coming out of our [sewers],” Johnson said.

She brought up concerns about those uninformed of the spill — such as children who might see foam as a fun thing to play with. She called on the town to safeguard its residents and inform them of the problem.

The council ultimately voted to have Town Manager Henze gather the organizations involved in the cleanup and formulate an approach to deal with the cleanup, including improving communication to the public and formulating a reporting plan on cleanup activity to the council. Specifics about how communication will be improved was not decided on.

At-Large Councilor James Ecker repeatedly noted during the meeting that the contamination issue is not acute but chronic and must be dealt with. He said that following the vote, he requested of town leaders to organize a mass briefing with the DEP, MRRA, the sewer and water districts, and the fire department.

“I think it would be good for everybody to get the same information at the same time,” he said.