SEATAC — In the 1980s, rookie firefighters at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport endured a hazing ritual known as the “foam shower.”

Recruits stood some 150 feet down the tarmac with 5-gallon buckets and were told to catch firefighting foam shot out of a crash-response truck’s water cannon.

They would wear the usual helmet and heat-resistant gear, but still ended up drenched as the bubbly white liquid rained down on them.

[...] Today, the PFAS in these foams are known as “forever chemicals” and have contaminated aquifers across the country, including under Sea-Tac. Regulators are trying to figure out the best approach to a cleanup that is likely to stretch on for decades. The foam also poses risks to firefighters, three of whom at the Port of Seattle developed pancreatic cancer, which in animal tests has been associated with exposure to small amounts of PFAS.