Home / Environment / Congress Demands Answers on Fire Retardant Toxins
Congress Demands Answers on Fire Retardant Toxins
22 Aug
Summary
- Lawmakers urge watchdog agency to investigate hazardous metals in fire retardants.
- Antimony, arsenic, and uranium were found in New Mexico private wells last November.
- Millions of gallons of fire retardant are dropped annually, raising health concerns.
U.S. Representative Teresa Leger Fernández and other congressional members have requested the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine the presence and effects of hazardous metals found in firefighting retardants. This initiative was prompted by the discovery of unsafe levels of antimony, arsenic, and uranium in private wells in Mora County, New Mexico, during November 2025, which led to a health alert.
While the New Mexico Health Department noted these metals are commonly found in fire suppressants, subsequent tests by the New Mexico Environment Department indicated that the levels were within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's safe drinking water standards. Nevertheless, federal agencies continue to deploy millions of gallons of fire retardant yearly, with nearly 50 million gallons dropped in 2024 alone.
Concerns have been raised about the environmental and human health risks associated with this extensive use of fire retardants. An academic study from November 2025 estimated that aerial retardant drops introduced approximately 840,000 pounds of toxic metals into the environment between 2009 and 2021. The GAO is currently evaluating the request to investigate the prevalence of these metals, their impact on watersheds and human health, and to identify safer alternatives.
