News & Press
First-Ever Study Reveals the Hard Truths Behind Soft Drinks’ Plastic Bottles: Beverage Industry Supply Chain Riddled with Carcinogens, Emissions and Contamination
New report from Defend Our Health and Beyond Petrochemicals shows how PET plastic bottles are threatening public health, environmental justice, and climate progress in the U.S. Portland, ME and New York, NY (May 23, 2023) – Today – ahead of the global plastics treaty negotiations in Paris – Defend our Health and the Beyond Petrochemicals… Read more »
Defend Our Health Supports Amendments to the PFAS Products Law in Maine
Defend Our Health is working closely with the legislature and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to make sure that Maine’s landmark legislation that requires the disclosure of intentionally added PFAS and bans all non-essential uses of PFAS by 2030. Defend’s vice president of programs and policy, Chris Chavis, responds to the amendments that were… Read more »
Investors holding more than ten trillion raise alarm on runaway plastic use
Last week, a coalition of 185 investors that manages over $10tn in combined assets signed a statement directed at fast moving consumer goods and grocery companies, urging a reduction in plastics usage. The statement is directed at all brands, and names nearly forty companies including The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper, and PepsiCo. The investors seek action… Read more »
Biden EPA Proposes Partial Crackdown on Toxic Air Emissions from the Chemical Industry
Serious cancer risks would still threaten more than 5 million, mostly Black and Brown people Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to revise a 17-year-old rule under the Clean Air Act to finally reduce toxic air emissions from about 200 chemical manufacturing plants in the United States, many of them located in Texas… Read more »
Defend Our Health Praises Maine Suit Against PFAS Manufacturers
State AG Frey announces lawsuit filed against 3M and DuPont for PFAS Contamination Today, Attorney General Aaron M. Frey announced that the state of Maine is currently filing two lawsuitsagainst the manufacturers 3M and DuPont. The lawsuits allege that both manufacturers, among others, have known for decades that PFAS poses a serious risk to human health… Read more »
Defend Our Health Praises EPA’s New PFAS Drinking Water Standard, Urges State to Take Action
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released draft rules to set maximum contaminant levels (MCL) for six types of PFAS in drinking water. The rule would set an MCL of four parts per trillion (PPT) for both PFOA and PFOS and regulate four other PFAS including GenX, PFBS, PFNA, PFHxS as a mixture. These new standards take… Read more »
Defend Our Health and PFAS Impacted Farmers Celebrate Possible Federal Safety Net
Senator Collins and Representative Pingree Reintroduce the Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act Portland, Maine – Defend Our Health, joined by a nation-wide group of PFAS impacted farmers, is calling for the swift passage of the Relief for Farmers Hit With PFAS Act, a bill designed to create a federally funded safety net for farmers thrown into… Read more »
Casella Waste Systems, Manufacturing a Crisis in Maine
Casella Waste Systems has recently claimed that Maine’s state-owned landfill is unable to accept sludge from 30 wastewater treatment plants, leaving plant operators across the state scrambling to find alternative ways of disposing of their waste product. Casella grosses over $1 billion annually managing waste streams across the Northeast and claims that Maine’s prohibitions on landfilling out-of-state waste and… Read more »
Plastic bottle demand is fueling widespread toxic pollution burden
Today, The Coca-Cola Company reported its 2022 and fourth quarter earnings, revealing significant growth for the popular beverage maker. The company’s reported $43.0 billion–11% growth–net revenue in 2022 adds to the post-pandemic rebound shown by the sector and numerous industries, and come at a time when inflation in the U.S. and abroad remains high. In… Read more »
Defend Our Health discovers more than 6,500 Maine school children exposed to PFAS
Newly released public water supply data documents high levels of contamination in school water supplies across Maine Portland, Maine – Recently, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) released its most recent data on PFAS contamination in community water supplies. The test results demonstrate that the public health impacts of PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ stretch far beyond… Read more »