Dianne Simmons

Ecological effects of fire fighting foams and retardants: a summary

Summary The use of fire fighting chemicals in Australia is increasing, yet few data are available to allow evaluation of their potential environmental effects on Australian ecosystems. These chemical retardants and foams are used extensively in natural areas with high environmental value, and there is a need to evaluate the effects of the fire compared with the effects of the fire retardant and suppressant chemicals. A summary of the data available suggests that there is significant potential for damage to terrestrial vegetation from fire retardants, and to aquatic ecosystems from fire fighting foams. There is a need to quantify the impacts of foams and retardants on native vegetation, and verify the effects of foams on aquatic organisms. There is great potential for the use of foams for prescribed burning operations, as well as wildfire suppression, but its widespread use should be minimised until its potential ecological impacts can be assessed. Existing guidelines for handling foam in the field should ...

Does firefighting foam affect the growth of some Australian native plants

Firefighting foams (Class A foams) are an effective and widespread firefighting tool, and are frequently used in environmentally sensitive areas. They are known to be ecologically damaging in aquatic environments; however, their impacts at the plant species or ecosystem level are relatively unknown. Reports of shoot damage to plants, suppressed flowering and changes in plant community composition suggest that the environmental damage caused by their use may be unacceptable. Applications of four levels of foam to seedlings of seven Australian plant species, from five representative and widespread families, showed no detectable impacts on a range of vegetative growth characteristics. The results are encouraging for continued use of firefighting foam in sensitive natural habitats.