Tag: Maine
2022 Legislative Victories
It was a busy second session of the 130th Maine legislature! Defend worked hard with our friends in the legislature to move policy that will help protect Mainers from exposure to toxic chemicals. We had an incredibly successful session, passing first-in-the-nation legislation banning sludge spreading, advocating for protections for our tribal neighbors, and working to… Read more »
2022 Priority Bills
PFAS Bills: LD 1911 “An Act To Prohibit the Contamination of Clean Soils with So-called Forever Chemicals.” This bill would ban the spreading of sludge and sludge-derived compost on farmland that contributes to PFAS contamination. It would also require that wastewater treatment facilities and other industry that discharge effluent into Maine’s waterways test that effluent for… Read more »
Maine Hearing: Experts & Impacted Residents Testify for Equity, Justice and Movement on Tackling PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’
On Monday, legislators, impacted citizens, scientists and health advocates urged the Environment and Natural Resources Committee to continue to move the state forward in the fight against toxic PFAS, a group of man-made chemicals that have been linked to negative health impacts, including several types of cancer and decreased immune response to vaccines. Defend has… Read more »
Oh, Deer! Venison joins fish and beef on list of contaminated food in Maine
Last week, news broke that deer in central Maine showed high levels of PFAS, followed by Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife deer hunting advisory not to eat any venison harvested in the Fairfield area and to discard any deer killed there earlier in the season. The news shocked and angered many Maine hunters. But… Read more »
Colby College Professor Calls For Federal Action on PFAS
This week, Dr. Véronique Plesch, a professor at Colby College and resident of Fairfield, Maine, shared her experience with PFAS contamination in the Portland Press Herald. Dr. Plesch is one of many Maine residents who have been affected by Maine’s “PFAS contamination crisis,” as she called it. After requesting a testing kit, Plesch discovered that the amount… Read more »
John Oliver and Danny DeVito Tackle PFAS on Last Week Tonight!
Spotlight on PFAS This week, we were thrilled to see 13-time Emmy Award winner John Oliver and actor Danny DeVito discuss the dangers of PFAS on Oliver’s popular HBO show Last Week Tonight! PFAS, a class of chemicals that stand for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are often used in food packaging and household products. High exposure… Read more »
Here’s what we’ve won!
Maine’s leading the nation by dumping a cancer-linked toxic chemical. The Maine Legislature passed a law to eliminate toxic PFAS from products we use every day. We’re the first state to get this done! (LD 1503) Maine will also protect our firefighters, whose risk of cancer is elevated by exposure to toxic chemicals. No longer… Read more »
The cost of inaction: Arsenic in water
In the last blog post on lead in drinking water, we talked about how our drinking water isn’t as safe as it should be to protect children’s brains. The EPA says that 15 parts per billion (ppb) of lead in water is good enough; but science has long known that no amount of lead is… Read more »
Expert & Advocate Testimony on PFAS in Drinking Water
Last week, legislators, impacted citizens, scientists and health advocates urged Maine’s Health and Human Services Committee to follow the policies of nearby states in the fight against drinking water contamination. Maine officials have been using an outdated “advisory” level from the USEPA of 70 parts per trillion, while experts and advocates are pushing to both… Read more »
Maine Hearing: Experts & Residents Testify for Safe Drinking Water
This week, legislators, impacted citizens, scientists and health advocates urged the Health and Human Services Committee to follow the policies of nearby states in the fight against drinking water contamination. The committee convened in a public hearing that involved two bills related to health-harming toxic chemicals known as PFAS. A bill on behalf of the… Read more »