News & Press
Popular Plastic Used for Food Packaging and Clothing Found to Release Toxics, New Study Finds
Virgin and recycled PET bottles and textiles found to contain more than a dozen hazardous chemicals not intentionally added, and more than a dozen leachable plastic additives. Minneapolis, MN — December 2, 2025 — A new study examining virgin and recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET)—used to make beverage bottles, plush toys, and clothing—found these products contained… Read more »
Kids’ Fashion Scorecard Uncovers Concerns Around Back-to-School Clothes Shopping
None of the leading children’s fashion brands that we reviewed, including GAP, Carter’s, and The Children’s Place, have publicly committed to making fewer clothes out of polyester or other plastic materials Portland, ME – A new scorecard reveals a significant lack of progress by the children’s fashion industry in managing plastics and chemicals. Ten leading fashion brands that… Read more »
Defend Our Health’s response to LD 1326
On Wednesday, June 25th, Representative Dan Shagoury’s (D-Hallowell) bill LD 1326 became law. The bill, titled “An Act to Protect the Drinking Water for Consumers of Certain Water Systems by Establishing Maximum Contaminant Levels for Certain Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances,” makes Maine the first state in the nation to formally adopt in statute the federal… Read more »
Defend Our Health’s response to EPA weakening rules on PFAS in drinking water
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is significantly weakening the first-ever National PFAS in Drinking Water Standard. The rule set health-protective limits for six PFAS and would have required public water utilities to remove the toxic ‘forever chemicals’ if they tested above the standards. With the announcement, the EPA jettisoned drinking water protections… Read more »
Defend Our Health Responds to US EPA’s Lack of Concern About Toxic Chemicals
This week, we learned that the US EPA is planning to cancel funding for essential research into the environmental hazards that children, especially those in rural areas of our nation, face. What’s in the line of fire? Studies on how to protect children from PFAS ‘forever chemicals,’ wildfire smoke, pesticides, and other toxic chemicals that pose immediate… Read more »
First-of-Its-Kind Comprehensive Database Highlights Dangers of Plastic Production from Start to Finish
Defend Our Health education web tool is now available as a resource for frontline activists and advocates to gain a deeper understanding of the lifecycle of plastics production Portland, ME — Defend Our Health (Defend) has just released a new Plastic Production Database that offers a comprehensive overview of the production process for the six most common plastics. The web… Read more »
The public wants clean air and water, not silly straw wars
On Monday, February 10th, President Trump issued an executive order to end the procurement of paper straws in government. The order directs the federal government to stop purchasing paper straws and remove them from federal buildings. Additionally, it dictates the formation of a national strategy to “End the Use of Paper Straws in 45 Days” nationwide. In… Read more »
Defend Our Health Statement on EPA’s Draft Risk Assessment for PFAS in Sludge
On Tuesday, January 14th, the US Environmental Protection Agency released a draft risk assessment for PFAS in sewage sludge applied to farmland as a fertilizer. The risk assessment highlights the numerous ways people can be exposed to PFAS when sludge is spread on farms and proposes a threshold for two common PFAS to protect people living on… Read more »
Defend Our Health Statement on Maine CDC Response to Release of Sludge in Lisbon Drinking Water
Today, the Maine CDC rapidly responded to the release of sludge and arsenic contamination in the Lisbon Public Drinking Water System. In response, Defend Our Health’s President and CEO, Emily Carey Perez de Alejo, stated: “While Mainers may be familiar with wastewater sludge (“biosolids”) contaminated with PFAS that were historically spread on Maine’s farmland and have caused… Read more »
Defend Our Health Statement on Chevron Deference
On Friday, June 28th, the United States Supreme Court overturned the 40-year-old legal doctrine referred to as the Chevron deference. The doctrine gave latitude to federal agencies in wide-ranging technical matters left ambiguous by Congressional legislation. In response, Defend Our Health’s Director of Campaigns and Programs, Maya Rommwatt, stated: “The gutting of the Chevron deference… Read more »