Firefighting goes PFAS free thanks to SoyFoam™

New soybean checkoff-funded project earns gold GreenScreen certification

A crucial pillar in the soybean checkoff’s work is developing new products to the market. That is exactly what has happened over the decades with the launch of SynLawn, Skechers x Goodyear shoe soles and more. Now, the spotlight sits on SoyFoam TF 1122™, a firefighting foam developed by Cross Plains Solutions in Dalton, Georgia. Utilizing soy flour, the foam works on multiple classes of fires while eliminating harmful PFAS chemicals. It meets all qualifications of existing firefighting foams, maintains a comparable price, and earns a first-of-its-kind gold level GreenScreen certification.

“It makes the world safer for us,” Mark Whitehair, Manhattan Fire Battalion Chief, says. “We already have the risk of going into hazardous smoke and everything else. Anything we can do to reduce our daily exposure to carcinogens and toxins makes a product hugely beneficial for us.”

Firefighters face serious risks on the job. In addition the risk of inhaling harmful smoke, PFAS chemicals are linked to adverse health effects. Traditional soy foams make use of PFAS, or polyfluoroalkyl substances, due to their characteristics in repelling oil and water, reducing friction and resisting temperature changes.

“When I visited with the chemist that was on this project, he told me the thing to make the foam work was trying to figure out how to get soybean meal to not degrade when mixed with water,” Bob Haselwood, Commissioner, says. “He said ‘We figured that out.’”

The outcome is a product that is safer for the environment and users. The United Soybean Board and state organizations plan to celebrate the release of SoyFoam™ for International Firefighter’s Day May 4.

Explore more – Farm Journal Coverage (YouTube) and SoyFoam™ TF 1122 (SoyBiobased.org)