This retardant is manufactured by Perimeter, an American company specializing in flame retardant products such as fire extinguisher foams and gels. The product used in Los Angeles in recent days is delivered in the form of a colored powder to firefighters who mix it with a little water before dispersing it.
“This helps achieve the desired viscosity and degree of adhesion. “It’s actually a mixture of water and fertilizer, and then the red color you see is just rust,” said Daniel McCurry, an environmental engineer at the University of Southern California. National Public Radio (NPR). The garish color fades over time with exposure to the sun.
Entire neighborhoods are sprayed with Phos-Chek to protect homes.
AFP
What impact for the environment?
Large air tankers can dump up to 35,000 liters of Phos-Chek on trees, which pushes associations to question the consequences of this chemical dispersion in the wilderness.
With very large areas of forest to protect, and areas that are sometimes difficult to access for emergency services, the American Forest Service authorized the use of chemical fire retardants in the 1950s. The dispersion of these products is completely integrated into the means available to fight fires.
The product currently used, LC95 from Phos-Chek, is approved by the SFA which has however decided to abandon this formula to switch, from this year, to MVP-Fx, less toxic to aquatic life. Scientific studies have shown that the current product is particularly harmful to fish, such as endangered Chinook salmon, when it enters waterways. Associations also raise concerns about its long-term effects on soil, insects and microbiology.
“Fire retardants are by far the worst thing the federal government can do for endangered species,” said Andy Stahl, executive director of Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics. of the environment”), which initiated legal action against the use of the retardant.
Swiss
