Firefighting foam from a fire suppression system that malfunctioned inside a hangar at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station Monday covers an area near Picnic Pond, background, on Tuesday morning. Photo by Steve Walker/ Brunswick Topsham Land Trust

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention is warning people not to eat fish from four water bodies located on and near the former Brunswick Naval Air Station because testing by the Navy last October revealed elevated levels of dangerous forever chemicals.

Elevated PFAS levels were found in fish tissue from Mere Brook (also known as Mare Brook), Merriconeag Stream, Picnic Pond and Site 8 Stream, which are all east of the base that closed in 2011. Now called Brunswick Landing, it is home to hundreds of residents and businesses, including the Brunswick Executive Airport.

The Navy did the testing in coordination with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in October 2023, and shared the data with the Maine CDC in spring of 2024, Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Lindsay Hammes said in a prepared statement Friday.

The CDC’s advisory follows the accidental release of 1,450 gallons of firefighting foam concentrate at Brunswick Executive Airport early Monday, when a fire suppression system malfunctioned. The foam spread to drains, manholes and nearby ponds, traveling on the wind and through the stormwater system. The CDC said the accidental release of aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) at the former naval air station “is not expected to impact the guidance issued today.”

“The waters likely impacted by the AFFF spill are on the east side of the runway at the air station,” the CDC said. “Today’s advisory recommends a no consumption advisory for those waters based on prior testing data.”

In response to the spill, the CDC also is advising people to avoid any contact with foam on these water bodies.

“Out of an abundance of caution, the Maine CDC also recommends the public refrain from any recreational activities (e.g., swimming, boating, wading) that could result in contact with the foam or waters until the potential impact of the AFFF release on these waterbodies is fully assessed,” the statement said.

The toxic foam contains dangerous forever chemicals, or PFAS, which are used in many common household and industrial products. Even trace amounts of some of the man-made chemicals are considered a public health risk by federal regulators, and can be linked to several cancers and immune issues.

Besides the recommendation to not eat fish at the four sites, the Maine CDC advises to eat no more than six meals per year of any fish species from Coffin Ice Pond to the western edge of the runway.