Breaking the bonds of PFAS: Airport launches new removal effort

By Dean Geddes | The Inquirer and Mirror | August 8, 2025

Read the full article by Dean Geddes (The Inquirer and Mirror)

"Could there be a way to make "forever" chemicals less forever?

Nantucket Memorial Airport will soon be on the front lines of testing a new system called HALT, which claims to break down and destroy a wide range of PFAS compounds in water– rendering them inert – using high heat, pressure and a chemical compound like sodium hydroxide.

“This system could possibly be used (in the future) to pull contaminated water from catch basins or geothermal systems that have PFAS, then turn it into an inert salt that is environmentally safe for discharge,” airport manager Warren Smith said. “Could this also treat contaminated soil? Possibly. But more to come on that type of testing.”

The airport has signed a $1.4 million contract with the engineering firm McFarland-Johnson to implement the HALT system as well as a new paint designed to prevent PFAS from leaching into the groundwater. Of the $1.4 million contract, $1.2 million will be covered by a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration."