But nowadays scientists are working on safer and better systems that could replace those which were mentioned above. One of such innovative and very prospective system is No Foam Kit. A No Foam Kit has been developed and demonstrated in order to replace Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) with a benign, biodegradable dye or water mixture that eliminates the need to release AFFF for operational maintenance and routine checks. The use of the kit produces a waste stream that can be assimilated by nature and can be recycled easily at recycling plants, thus producing a complete reduction of the problematic AFFF wastewater stream.

For the Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) vehicle is currently a main line of defence at shore-base airfields facilities these vehicles must be periodically tested, used for training, and maintained to provide for appropriate operational readiness. The vehicles use an AFFF for fire suppression. Despite its wide use and effectiveness for fire fighting, AFFF poses an environmental risk because of its resistance to biodegradation, its toxicity, and its high Biological Oxygen Demand and Chemical Oxygen Demand. In addition, AFFF has been prohibited for discharge to the ground and treatment plants at many facilities due to its non-biodegradable nature, its extreme foaming capacity, and its tendency to upset biological treatment systems. The combination of these issues has created a conflict of needs with regard to meeting operational requirements in the protection of life and property and the stewardship of the environment.

The No Foam Kit has been demonstrated as an alternative system to the existing ARFF vehicles models CF4000L (Amertek) and P-19 (Oshkosh). In the cab of the vehicle, the fire fighter simply pushes and holds a push-button to activate the kit. Then the fire fighter continues through the normal fire fighting discharge procedure. A flow sensor installed in the kit piping sends electrical signals to the meter in the cab. The fire fighter simply reads and quickly determines the vehicle’s AFFF delivery system performance. By releasing the push-button the kit is deactivated and the vehicle is in the ready, fire fighting mission mode.

This system is considered to be very prospective because the use of a No Foam Kit can greatly assist facilities in meeting material pre-treatment standards for discharges of wastewater into publicly owned treatment works. In addition, this treatment process may help facilities meet the requirements of waste reduction.