The Effect of Fire Fighting Foams on the Environment and Fire Extinguishing
Extinguishing foams are commonly used for extinguishing the fire of flammable liquids, whereby their insulating, choking and quenching effects are exploited. The purpose of this paper is to consider and compare foams currently used in Slovak fire departments, with respect mainly to their high extinguishing ef fect (capability of faster aborted burning on a large surf ace at low foam consumption), but also their impact on the environment in each stage of their life cycle. Fire fighting foams are commonly used to reduce the spreading and extinguishing of Class B fires and to prevent re - ignition. These foams can be used t o prevent ignition of flammable liquids and in certain conditions for extinguishing Class A fires. Foams can be used in combination with other extinctive substances, mainly gaseous and powders ones. Modern fire - fighting foams can be considered to be ve ry good in terms of physical characteristics, but in recent years, the REACH legislation draws attention to their ecotoxicological properties. If fire - fighting foams are used to extinguish large fires, their products (such as decomposed water from the form ed foam) are very likely to get into the soil and water flow, concurrently affecting the possibility of wastewater purification. All types of foam have different ecological characteristics since their components determine the rate of biodegradation. The ec otoxicological tests of Sinapis alba also showed that even a low concentration of foamer exhibits significant toxicity. Tis paper descri be of analysis for four foam: Sthamex AFFF 1 %, Sthamex AFFF F - 15, Pyronil, Moussol APS F - 15. It is necessary to know t heir physical characteristics, e.g. their stability at low and high temperatures defined by half - life; the number of foaming specifying whether it is heavy, medium or light foam, and also their viscosity pro perties to be appropriately selected and used in fire - fighting practice.