Ralph Keyes is a Brunswick resident who lives near Brunswick Landing.

In his Nov. 30 op-ed “Setting the record straight on Brunswick foam spill,” Steve
Levesque, the former executive director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA), expresses that he is “saddened and disappointed” by the response of some local officials to the August 2024 AFFF firefighting foam spill at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station (now called Brunswick Landing).

There are many others who are sad and disappointed about this environmental disaster and the response to it. I wish to call attention to some of the people Mr. Levesque did not include in his opinion piece.

I will preface this by stating that the PFAS “forever chemical” issue at Brunswick Landing and nearby neighborhoods came into broad focus because of the 2024 spill, but PFAS-laden flame retardants were used at the Naval Air Station for decades, starting long before we knew of the hazards of these chemicals.

Lots of these toxic materials were released and spilled into the environment. These substances saturated soil, groundwater, buildings and plumbing infrastructure before the 2024 spill, and they are also part of the issue we are dealing with today.

MRRA did not cause all of this pollution, but they are the current stewards of it. I will also note that “PFAS” is used as a general term for the many human-made substances commonly known as “forever chemicals,” and many of these are carcinogens.

Among those who might also be experiencing sadness and disappointment:

● Those who advised MRRA to insist that the Navy remove the AFFF fire suppression
systems prior to assuming ownership of Hangar 4, the site of the 2024 spill. Had MRRA
done this, perhaps the spill would not have happened.
● Safety inspectors who advised MRRA in 2023 to address issues with the Hangar 4 fire
suppression system before it failed. Had the electronic sensing units been maintained or
replaced, perhaps the spill would not have happened.
● The responders to the 2024 spill who worked, at least initially, without masks/ventilators
and other protection. They and their families may be thinking about what long-term
health impacts they could suffer as a result of this exposure.
● The residents of Brunswick Landing and the employees and patrons of Landing
businesses and educational institutions who are anxious about their exposure to the
toxins.
● The neighbors of Brunswick Landing who have incurred expenses testing their wells
(hundreds of dollars), installing filtration systems (thousands of dollars) or connecting
their homes to the municipal water system (tens of thousands of dollars).
● Neighbors to the south, north, east and west of the defined potential impact areas who
wonder if the aquifers from which they draw water are also affected, including
neighbors in Harpswell and Topsham.
● Brunswick Landing residents who look out at the extensive soil piles from “post-spill”
development and wonder if the dust that blows off those piles and the rain water that
washes through them might contain toxins.
● Pet owners who live on or visit the Landing and wonder if their pets’ health might be
affected.
● The shellfish harvesters who have experienced extended closures of the clam flats in
Harpswell Cove, and other marine fishery interests who wonder about the safety of their
harvests.
● People who visit nearby forests, fields, marshes, marine estuaries, the Androscoggin
River and Merrymeeting Bay and wonder if it is safe to walk, ski, bike, boat, swim, fish
and hunt in these habitats.

Indeed, Mr. Levesque, there is much to be saddened and disappointed about.