Document qmLn6QO0Z5YeMMKeqNRn060Dk

From: To: CC: Sent: Subject: Attachments: John P. Farley Hunstad, Mary P CIV NAVSEA HQ, SEA 05 Fletcher, Steven G CIV NSWCCD PHIL, PA; Berchtold, Brian D CIV NAVSEA HQ, NAVSEA 05; Sonntag, William B CIV NAVSEA, SEA 00D 9/22/2014 3:38:30 PM RE: Tasker 19392C4_DRAFT RESPONSE_CORRECTED 19392C4_Rep+Rogers+Questions (3).docx M an" Sorry for the confusion. The attachment is the most recent version. Everything else is OK as stated. R/John John P. Farle} Director, CBD/ex-USS SHADWELL Fire Test Operations Naval Research Laboratory Washington DC From: JolmP. Farley Sent: Monday. September 22. 2014 11:29 AM To: 'Hunstad.' Mary P CIV NAVSEA HQ. SEA 05' Cc: Fletcher. Steven G CIV NSWCCD PHIL. PA; Berchtold. Brian D CIVNAVSEAHQ. NAVSEA 05; 'william.sonntago navy, mi I' Subject: FW: Tasker 19392C4 DRAFT RESPONSE ' Mary: The following (including the attachment) provides NRL's draft response. It should be noted that a concerted effort has been made "to stress" keeping the current MILSPEC AFFF and to note the current shortfalls o f the currently available F3 products. Additional!}', since the Congressman is well aware o f the potential environmental issues related to AFFF based on the specific questions provided, we feel strongly that a thorough review o f the topic is necessary' to definitively show that NRL/NAVSEA /DoD/DLA/OSD has the requisite technical knowledge o f the subject and has a conceptual plan that will both address an}' environmental issues and the need to maintain the "best product" available to the Fleet. 1. In response point #1 o f Tasker 19392C4 on Fire Fighting F oam w e provide th e follow ing discussion w ith respect to the potential problem s the U.S. D oD may encounter by substituting military specification (M ILSPEC) M IL-F24385F Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) products with com m ercial-of-the-self (COTS) fluorine-free foam (F3) products. 2. W ith regard to the suitability o f the available COTS F3 products, previous M ILSPEC AFFF fire testing conducted by NRL has demonstrated that the present F3 formulations do not conform to the M IL-F24385Fstandard, and cannot be used as an AFFF substitute in U.S. DoD applications w hich require M ILSPEC AFFF. The principle reasons for this are: a. M IL -F-24385F explicitly states that AFFF m ust be able to produce an aqueous film with a positive spreading coefficient on the surface o f a burning liquid. In addition, it requires that all qualified products be cross-com patible (tw o or more products mixed in any proportions m ust m aintain the same firefighting perform ance). Cross compatibility with several AFFF form ulations already listed on the Qualified Product D atabase (QPD) would be difficult to achieve for an F3 product. b. A n extinguishm ent tim e as short as possible is critical for crew safety, mission restoration, and vital capital US00006109 asset fire protection, especially considering the hazardous conditions posed when there may be ordnance present. Currently there are no COTS F3 products that can m eet the M IL-F-24385F firefighting extinguishment perform ance standard. Additionally, since the extinguishm ent tim e for COTS F3 products are inherently slow er in com parison to AFFF, the application rate would have to be increased, which would result in greater system costs and higher weight penalties for ship classes, which tend to be weight critical by design. c. B eyond firefighting extinguishm ent perform ance, M IL -F-24385F additionally m andates specific chem ical and physical requirem ents to ensure the candidate foam products are compatible with existing military foam proportioning systems and firefighting appliances. The current F3 products have dem onstrated potential problem atic issues with regard to their concentrate viscosity, sea w ater compatibility, their ability to function with non-aspirating nozzles, and will have increased acute toxicity to aquatic life forms, particularly fish, due to their higher levels o f hydrocarbon surfactants in com parison to AFFF. In response point #2 o f Tasker 19392C4 on Fire Fighting Foam, the attachm ent provides comments to each o f the questions requested by Rep Rogers. R/John US00006110