Soybean advocates are encouraging fire crews to replace their traditional firefighting foam, which has risky PFAS chemicals in it, to safer and more environmentally friendly soy-based alternative. The product, called SoyFoam, is the first and only firefighting foam that is GreenScreen Certified at the Gold level.
Synthetic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), more commonly referred to as “forever chemicals,” are extremely effective at cooling and suppressing certain types of fires, however, there is a mounting concern about the pollution that PFAS chemicals are responsible for. SoyFoam, which is 100 percent free of intentionally added PFAS and is made with no fluorines, is a wetting/smothering agent capable of extinguishing Class A (ordinary combustibles) and Class B (flammable liquids) fires.
It has been developed by Cross Plains Solutions in partnership with the United Soybean Board.
“As a farmer and former volunteer firefighter for 23 years, the various applications of SoyFoam to extinguish and control fires could protect more than 1 million firefighters in the U.S. alone,” said Steve Reinhard, Ohio farmer and chair of the United Soybean Board, which administers the national soy checkoff. “One of our main priorities on behalf of the half-million U.S. soybean farmers is to create biobased alternatives safer for people and our environment.”
The introduction of SoyFoam comes just ahead of International Firefighters’ Day, which takes place May 4.
SoyFoam TF 1122 seamlessly integrates with current foam nozzles, inductors, and pump pressures, requiring no adjustments to a fire department’s existing standard operating procedures.
The biofoam is made with soy flour (the meal component of the soybean), which differs from many other soy-based products — like biofuels, adhesives, coatings, lubricants, and plastics — which primarily use soybean oil. It’s also certified ready biodegradable by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development and is certified as 84 percent biobased through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s BioPreferred program.
Cross Plains Solutions estimates the current applications of SoyFoam have the potential to use the protein from 12 million bushels of soybeans, and new uses for the product, beyond firefighting applications, are on the horizon.
“Our manufacturing plant in Georgia is ready to produce SoyFoam now, so fire departments can ask their suppliers to offer it. We also see demand for numerous additional applications, ranging from canisters to sprinkler systems,” said Cross Plains Solutions’ Managing Partner Alan Snipes.
The reason foam alternatives are sought is because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports PFAS are being found in water, air, fish, and soil at locations across the nation and the globe. Exposure is linked to several adverse health effects, including certain cancers, thyroid dysfunction, changes in cholesterol and small reductions in birth weight.