Ohio's Bold Plan to Erase 'Forever Chemicals' Sets a National Blueprint

COLUMBUS, OH – August 11, 2026 – In a quiet industrial park in Columbus, a complex system of steel pipes and reactors is performing what was once considered impossible: making 'forever chemicals' disappear. This isn't science fiction; it's the culmination of Ohio's pioneering effort to confront a toxic legacy head-on. Two years after its inception, the nation’s first statewide program to collect and permanently destroy PFAS-laden firefighting foam has successfully completed its first round, offering a powerful blueprint for the rest of the country.

The program, a collaboration between state officials, scientists, and environmental technologists, has collected and eliminated over 13,500 gallons of Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) from 118 fire departments and two municipal airports. For decades, this foam was a firefighter's essential tool for battling high-intensity fuel fires. But its effectiveness came at a hidden cost. AFFF is a highly concentrated source of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a class of thousands of synthetic chemicals whose incredibly strong carbon-fluorine bonds prevent them from breaking down, earning them the ominous nickname 'forever chemicals.' Their persistence in the environment and accumulation in the human body are linked to serious health risks, including cancer and immune system dysfunction.

Now, Ohio has demonstrated that this legacy of persistence is not a permanent sentence. By building a system rooted in technological innovation and public trust, the state is not just cleaning out its firehouses; it's rebuilding the very definition of environmental remediation.

The Anatomy of Destruction

The core of Ohio's solution is a technology called Supercritical Water Oxidation (SCWO), commercialized as the PFAS Annihilator® by Revive Environmental, a company spun out of the global science and technology organization Battelle. This isn't a simple filtration or separation technique that leaves contaminated material behind. SCWO is a process of total destruction.

The system works by subjecting the PFAS-laden liquid to extreme temperatures (over 374°C) and pressures (over 3,200 psi). Under these conditions, water enters a 'supercritical' state, where it acts as a unique solvent that facilitates rapid and complete oxidation. The powerful carbon-fluorine bonds that make PFAS so resilient are systematically broken apart at the molecular level. Independent scientific studies and EPA research have verified that SCWO can achieve destruction rates exceeding 99.99%.

The end products are not other, smaller PFAS molecules or a toxic sludge. Instead, the 'forever chemicals' are mineralized—converted into water, carbon dioxide, and inert inorganic salts like fluoride. In a crucial step for verifying the system's integrity, Revive Environmental ensured that every batch of treated liquid was independently tested against U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Act standards before being discharged. The system is so thorough that even the water used to rinse the empty AFFF containers was collected and put through the same destruction process, ensuring no trace of the original contaminant re-entered the environment.

“PFAS chemicals were once thought to be indestructible, but this technology is literally making these toxins disappear,” said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. “With round one of this program now complete, I’m proud of what Ohio has accomplished.”

A System of Trust: From Firehouse to Finality

Technology alone cannot solve a problem of this scale. The success of Ohio’s program hinged on building a logistical and administrative system that fire departments could trust. Revive Environmental, in partnership with the Ohio EPA, managed the entire chain of custody, from an online portal for fire departments to register their AFFF stockpiles to the meticulous tracking of every single container from the firehouse to the Columbus destruction facility.

For fire departments like Franklin Township, located just miles from the facility, the program was a long-awaited resolution. For over 20 years, their mission to protect the community from fuel fires required them to keep AFFF on hand. Over time, their stockpile grew to more than 1,300 gallons—a significant liability sitting in their station. After turning over their entire stock, Chief Robert Arnold and Lieutenant Jason Brockmeyer toured the Revive facility to witness the destruction process firsthand.

“It is amazing that there is a technology that can completely destroy the PFAS, and we now have the verification to prove it,” said Chief Arnold. As a tangible symbol of this closure, he noted, “A sample of the clean effluent now stands in our trophy case. We’re really excited to finally have this behind us. This material no longer poses a threat to our crew, our neighbors, or the environment.”

This sense of closure is formalized through “Certificates of Processing” issued to each participating department. This documentation provides legal and environmental assurance that their liability has been permanently eliminated, a critical component for public agencies navigating complex regulations.

The Blueprint for a Post-PFAS World

What makes Ohio’s achievement a true blueprint is its replicable structure. The entire $3 million initiative was funded not by new taxpayer dollars, but with money Ohio received from a 2018 settlement against Monsanto over polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination—a case filed by then-Attorney General DeWine. This model, where funds from one corporate environmental settlement are used to solve another pressing contamination issue, provides a powerful pathway for other states.

The model is already working. Inspired by Ohio’s leadership, states including New Hampshire, North Carolina, and New Jersey have launched their own statewide AFFF takeback programs.

“The State of Ohio should be commended for leading the nation in the verified destruction of AFFF,” said Rick Gillespie, CEO of Revive Environmental. “By making this commitment, Ohio is protecting its firefighters and communities, removing PFAS from these facilities and destroying it for good.”

The program exemplifies a successful public-private partnership, combining state-level ambition with private-sector innovation. Amy Dindal, a director at Battelle, which invented the SCWO technology, reflected on its journey from a research concept to a commercial solution. “It took a lot of teamwork, perseverance, and innovation, but what started as a pilot has now been operating commercially for over three years,” she said, underscoring the real-world impact of destroying environmental health threats.

The challenge of AFFF is finite. Every gallon stored in a firehouse or airport hangar can be identified, collected, and, as Ohio has proven, permanently destroyed. With effective and safer fluorine-free firefighting foams now available and in service, communities no longer have to choose between fire safety and environmental health. Ohio has shown that with the right system, we can have both.