Health advocates call for stricter standards, follow-up testing

PORTLAND, MAINE – With reports of additional residential water wells contaminated with toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” in Fairfield, advocates are increasing the call for state action and legislation to address the problem. 

In determining whether or not wells are contaminated, Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Maine’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are relying on an outdated “advisory” level of 70 parts per trillion (ppt) from the US EPA. This level has been widely criticized by scientists as being inadequately protective of human health, including from within other agencies of the federal government.  Other states, including Maine’s neighbors in New Hampshire, as well as Vermont and Massachusetts, enforce significantly lower levels in drinking water.  Fairfield residents with water results less than 70 ppt are being assured their water is “safe” by Maine officials, even when their levels would be illegal to serve in neighboring New Hampshire.

“Maine must stop being an outlier with the least health protective drinking water standards in Northern New England,” said Patrick MacRoy, Deputy Director of Defend Our Health. “We urge DEP and CDC to immediately apply the Vermont standards when determining if Fairfield residents should be receiving bottled water and filtration.”

Defend Our Health has been working with state representatives to introduce a bill in the 130^th legislature that will set a state standard for PFAS in line with the standard used in Vermont and Massachusetts.

“If state officials aren’t willing to set health protective standards for PFAS, then it is incumbent on our representatives to force action,” MacRoy added.

Health advocates are also calling on the state to step up efforts to test other locations that received similar sludge as the Fairfield farm that is believed to be the source of the contamination.  The Tozier Dairy Farm was identified as having some of the highest levels of PFAS in their cows’ milk reported in North America, triggering the investigation of the land and surrounding wells.  The contamination at Tozier, like that at the Stoneridge Farm in Arundel, is believed to be the result of the use of industrial and municipal sludge as fertilizer.

Yet despite having developed a list of every location that has received sludge similar to that spread at Tozier and Stoneridge farms, the Mills administration has yet to actively test these sites for contamination. Rather, they have embarked on a haphazard sampling of store-bought milk, not knowing in advance the farm sources of the milk.  By nothing more than luck, a sample included the Tozier’s milk.

“The state has the information on where potentially contaminated sludge has been spread. It has the authority to conduct testing.  Yet, it has failed to act.  Fairfield residents have been drinking contaminated water for years, perhaps even decades. Families across the state may be drinking contaminated milk.  How many more Fairfields are there across the state? How many more farms are impacted? The only way to know is to follow-up and test the locations that have received sludge,” said MacRoy.

Defend Our Health has also worked with state legislators to introduce a bill to the 130^th legislature to require DEP to test, with specific deadlines, locations that have received potentially contaminated sludge. Both bills are currently awaiting review by the legislature’s revisor’s office and have yet to be “printed” for public consideration.

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Defend our Health works to create a world where all people are thriving, with equal access to safe food and drinking water, healthy homes, and products that are toxic-free and climate-friendly.