Dairy Reporter Gets the Inside Scoop on Toxic-Free Food Contact

Last week, Defend Our Health’s research analyst, Roopa Krithivasan, appeared on Dairy Reporter’s podcast Dairy Dialog to discuss Toxic-Free Food Contact, a new web-based resource that provides guidance to the food and beverage industry on how to identify safer and more sustainable food packaging, processing equipment and food service ware. The easy-to-use resource is, “Relevant…  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 »

Testing for PFAS in Fairfield: why transparency matters

If you’ve been following our work here at Defend Our Health, you know that we’ve been deeply involved with the widespread PFAS contamination in Fairfield, ME, since we found out that the past use of municipal and industrial sludge as fertilizer from the 1970s-2000s destroyed Fred Stone’s family dairy farm.  From the start, we have joined…  Read more »

Back to School – What’s in your dairy?

Dairy products are ubiquitous in kids’ lunchboxes and school meals – milk, yogurt, string cheese, boxed or pre-made mac and cheese — the list goes on. Kids aged 2-11 make up the largest age demographic of dairy consumers, consuming an average of 1.4 cups of milk a day. But as many of us prepare to send our…  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 »

Their Journey for Justice

Ashley Gooldrup and her fiancé Troy Reny bought their home in Fairfield, Maine just over a year ago. Set on six acres of open field, with breathtaking views, it was the first home they had purchased, and it felt like a dream come true. But last fall they got a phone call that turned their lives…  Read more »

Maine Legislation: PFAS in Products

As leading retailers ban sales of toxic PFAS products, health advocates call on Maine to follow suit With home improvement retailer Lowe’s announcing the end of the sale of PFAS carpet treatments, legislature urged to adopt bill to broadly end use in products Portland, Maine — On the heels of actions from leading retailer Lowe’s,…  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 »

Press Briefing: Outlining Bills on Forever Chemicals

This week we held a briefing with legislators, advocates, and public health experts to brief the press on PFAS legislation. The briefing covered seven bills being introduced to Maine’s 130th Legislature related to health-harming toxic chemicals known as PFAS that are currently making headlines in Maine and nationwide. Collectively the bills implement and strengthen key recommendations…  Read more »