AFFF Transition—PFAS Decontamination and Outbound Test Captures
At Des Moines International Airport, Taplin Group successfully completed the decontamination of four ARFF fire trucks as part of the airport’s transition away from legacy AFFF foam. Our team removed existing foam concentrate, thoroughly cleaned each apparatus, and treated the resulting rinsate to meet wastewater discharge requirements. The project was completed ahead of schedule, with each truck taking approximately one week to complete.
As part of the process, Taplin deployed the PFASigator® system to treat PFAS-impacted rinsate on site, enabling effective destruction of contaminants during the cleaning operation rather than simply transferring them to another waste stream. All recovered AFFF concentrate was then transported for final destruction using a permitted process that avoids incineration and deep-well injection, providing a more environmentally responsible and permanent solution.
During the project, we also encountered challenges related to the interaction between flourine-free (F3) foam and treatment systems—an emerging issue across the industry. Leveraging our internal expertise, we developed a solution that restored treatment efficiency and allowed all rinsate to be properly managed and ultimately discharged in compliance with local standards.