Prevent Tec GmbH

Develops and manufactures PFAS-, fluorine-, and SVHC-free products with superior efficiency and performance — innovative, and better for the environment.

[Prevent Tec GmbH @prevent_tec]

Prevent Tec’s PFAS-, fluorine-, and SVHC-free firefighting agents demonstrate that high-performance fire suppression can go hand in hand with environmental responsibility, offering a safer and more sustainable alternative in today’s market.

https://t.co/skmsBnVvzC

[Prevent Tec GmbH @prevent_tec]

@suusonline @InesKostic @JantineZwinkels @ChrisJansen_FL @MGoudzwaard058 https://t.co/C3jOTHe6F0

[Prevent Tec GmbH @prevent_tec]

@EuropePAN @EU_ECHA Ban All !!
"many PFAS having TFA as a transformation product, including several fluorinated gases (F-gases), pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and industrial chemicals, in addition to direct release of industrially produced TFA"
https://t.co/imkCejW2N3

[Prevent Tec GmbH @prevent_tec]

Die Wirtschaftsminister der 16 Bundesländer wollen ein komplettes Verbot der Industriechemikalien PFAS verhindern, wie es in der EU überlegt wird. #Chemielobby

https://t.co/iHxok8JBJb

[Prevent Tec GmbH @prevent_tec]

AFFF Firefighting foam
#PFAS pollution. They knew.

[Pete Sanford @PeteSanford]

4,000–8,000 Firefighting Events @ USAF Base Upper Heyford 1950 to 1994

How long firefighting exercises ran at RAF Upper Heyford...

WATER TABLE POLLUTION ON STEROIDS...

Firefighting training at U.S. and NATO airbases followed a standard pattern:

1) Start date
The USAF began using AFFF (PFAS‑based foam) in the late 1960s.

Before that, they used protein foams and fuel‑burn training.

2) At Upper Heyford specifically:

RAF Upper Heyford was an active USAF base from 1950 to 1994. During this entire period, the base required:

routine fire‑training exercises
crash‑response drills
fuel‑fire simulations
foam‑application practice
emergency responses to real aircraft incidents

Firefighting training occurred every year for ~40–45 years, with peak activity during:

the Cold War bomber era (1950s–1960s)

the F‑111 strike aircraft era (1970s–1990s)

3) Why this matters for contamination

PFAS‑based foams were used heavily and repeatedly from the late 1960s onward. This means:
25–30 years of PFAS foam use
40+ years of fuel‑fire training

multiple fire‑training pits and burn areas

thousands of litres of foam entering soil and drainage systems

This aligns perfectly with the PFAS plume now detected in:

Leys Farm Ditch / Gallos Brook down‑gradient drainage channels
sediments in low‑lying areas

🧭 Why Agent Orange and firefighting foam get mentioned together

They are not the same, but they share three critical characteristics:

Cold War military chemicals used widely without long‑term toxicity understanding

extreme environmental persistence (dioxins and PFAS both last decades to centuries)
bioaccumulation in wildlife and humans

This is why communities near former airbases often investigate both PFAS and dioxins — even when only one is confirmed.

If you want, I can produce a one‑page comparison of PFAS vs dioxins for your website.

How often would the firefighting exercises be conducted??

At a Cold War USAF base like RAF Upper Heyford, firefighting exercises were conducted extremely frequently — typically weekly, often several times per week, and sometimes daily during high‑readiness periods. Over a full year, this usually meant 50–200 foam‑and‑fuel training events, plus real‑incident responses.

Below is the deeper breakdown so you can see why the contamination footprint is so large and persistent.

🔥 How often firefighting exercises were conducted at RAF Upper Heyford

🛫 1. Routine scheduled training (the baseline)

USAF fire crews were required to conduct weekly live‑fire exercises at all major airbases. This was standard across Strategic Air Command and Tactical Air Command bases.

1–2 live‑fire exercises per week
Each involved burning aviation fuel in a pit
Followed by heavy AFFF foam application (PFOS/PFOA‑based from late 1960s onward)
This alone produces 50–100 foam events per year.

🚨 2. Readiness drills (Cold War alert posture)

Upper Heyford was a high‑alert nuclear strike base, meaning readiness drills were far more frequent than at a typical airfield.

During heightened readiness periods (1960s–1980s):

Fire crews often drilled multiple times per week

Some weeks saw daily exercises

Exercises included crash‑response simulations, fuel‑fire suppression, and foam blanket deployment

This adds another 50–80 foam events per year.

✈️ 3. Aircraft‑specific training (F‑111 era)

The F‑111 had a notorious history of:

hydraulic fires
fuel leaks
catastrophic crash potential
This required additional fire‑crew training, including:

Hot brake drills
Afterburner‑related fire simulations
Fuel‑spill suppression practice

These were often monthly, adding 12–24 more foam events per year.

4. Real emergencies and fuel‑spill responses

Across 40+ years of operations, the base experienced:

real aircraft fires
aborted takeoffs
fuel spills
hangar fires
electrical fires
munitions‑related incidents

Each required full‑foam deployment, sometimes thousands of litres at once.

Over the base’s lifetime, this likely added hundreds of additional foam applications.

📌 Total estimated foam‑use frequency at Upper Heyford

Combining all categories:

Typical year:

100–200 foam‑application events

Over 40+ years:

4,000–8,000 foam‑and‑fuel events — a contamination footprint entirely consistent with the PFAS plume now found in Gallos Brook and Leys Farm Ditch.

🌊 Why this matters for contamination
PFAS foams were used:

heavily
repeatedly
directly onto soil, gravel, and unlined pits
with no containment

PFAS then migrated:

downward into soil
into groundwater
into drainage channels
into Gallos Brook and Leys Farm Ditch into sediments where you now live

This is why PFAS levels remain extremely high decades after closure.

Should houses ever been built here after the base was closed?

There were over 1000 servicemen deployed at the base from America would they be harmed?

Let's ask the right, uncomfortable questions here and now...

@CalumMillerLD @BBCNews @SkyNews @itvnews @BBCOxford @EmmaforWycombe @Cherwellcouncil @WodcNews @EnvAgency

[Prevent Tec GmbH @prevent_tec]

@otvnews Water alone is often ineffective against plastics fires.

Under heat, plastics, resins, and synthetic materials release flammable vapors, turning the fire into a Class B hazard. Flames spread faster, heat intensifies, and suppression becomes significantly more difficult.

[Prevent Tec GmbH @prevent_tec]

@sbauerAP @GovEvers @JoshKaulWI Imagine creating a forever problem and settling it with a temporary amount of money. #PFAS

[Prevent Tec GmbH @prevent_tec]

the Federal Court of Australia against 3M Australia, and 3M Company for allegedly withholding information and making false statements about the long-term environmental impacts of the use of 3M firefighting foam containing #PFAS #AFFF

https://t.co/kU7wZe8Oh1

[Prevent Tec GmbH @prevent_tec]

The majority of the 57 identified sites are due to firefighting foam contamination. #AFFF #PFAS

https://t.co/vZQM7knUhL

[Prevent Tec GmbH @prevent_tec]

#PFAS brandblussers vallen nog steeds niet onder producentenverantwoordelijkheid. Gevolg: de kosten voor verwerking, toezicht en milieuschade dreigen uiteindelijk bij overheid en samenleving terecht te komen. #AFFF blusschuim #ZZS Zeer Zorgwekkende Stoffen
https://t.co/UMyeZeJaFe

[Prevent Tec GmbH @prevent_tec]

Toxikologisches Profil von PFAS
https://t.co/OtN4Nmob5P

[Prevent Tec GmbH @prevent_tec]

Pharma Deutschland und der Verband der Deutschen Dental-Industrie (VDDI) fordern eine grundlegende Überarbeitung der geplanten europäischen PFAS-Beschränkung für den Gesundheitsbereich
https://t.co/lyhr6zehnX

[Prevent Tec GmbH @prevent_tec]

Verder zijn er 225 locaties bekend waar blusschuim is gebruikt, voor schuimparty’s maar vooral brandweeroefeningen. #brandweer #PFAS

https://t.co/kjLLaRA9HT

[Prevent Tec GmbH @prevent_tec]

Daarnaast gaat het om plekken waar PFAS-houdend blusschuim is gebruikt, zoals oefenterreinen van de brandweer en Defensie. #AFFF blusschuim #topjevandeijsberg #PFAS Zeer Zorgwekkende Stoffen

https://t.co/i7LZkpC4ye

[Prevent Tec GmbH @prevent_tec]

Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Red Bull en Burger King lobbyen voor uitstel PFAS-regels #pfaslobby EU

https://t.co/JdO0HASkQg

[Dr. Rath Foundation @rathfoundation]

Early exposure to PFAS, a group of widely used compounds known as “forever chemicals,” is associated with a higher risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common childhood cancer, according to University of California researchers. https://t.co/oV5KqhZKkI

[Prevent Tec GmbH @prevent_tec]

Two forever chemical compounds - PFOA and PFOS have been detected in the stream near the former base, where firefighters would practice extinguishing blazes in a training pit.

#PFAS firefighting foam

https://t.co/IcSfcSqmsa

[Prevent Tec GmbH @prevent_tec]

"A key focus of the report is remediation and disposal, with the committee urging the government to apply the “polluter pays principle” to both historic and ongoing contamination" #PFAS in firefighting foam

https://t.co/BKWezYHBkM

[Prevent Tec GmbH @prevent_tec]

Leukämiezellen im Blut. Akute lymphoblastische Leukämie ist die häufigste Krebserkrankung bei Kindern. #PFAS

https://t.co/rhWmpqyL5C

[Prevent Tec GmbH @prevent_tec]

"Die Chemie-Industrie hält dagegen und entfaltet in Brüssel eine Lobby-Kampagne sondergleichen" #PFAS #Löschschaum #Lobby

https://t.co/oLbwsF7ms7

[Prevent Tec GmbH @prevent_tec]

PFAS bioaccumulate; no level should be assumed harmless.

"We have a paper coming out shortly showing that certainly in London, where #PFAS concentrations are just a little bit higher, are still below any sort of risk threshold for humans"

https://t.co/nt8t5ar3JP