News & Press
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 »
Canada Acts on PFAS, Officials Indicate Movement Away from Toxic Sludge Spreading on Farmland
On Friday, Radio Canada reported that Quebec’s Minister for the Environment and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have expressed concerns about the use of sludge on farmland. The article concludes that Environment Minister Benoit Charrette has promised to tighten regulations around sludge application. Sighting the precautionary principal and the need to act quickly to protect farmland and… Read more »
Number one plastic polluter prize goes to Coca-Cola for fifth straight year
This week, the Coca-Cola Company was named the world’s biggest plastic polluter for the fifth year in a row in Break Free From Plastic’s Brand Audit report. The annual Brand Audit is a global community science project that analyzes plastic waste by over 200,000 volunteers in 87 countries and territories. The effort has found the… Read more »
Defend’s Director of Advocacy Response to Maine DEP PFAS Extension
This week, the state gave a six-month extension to an extensive list of more than 1,000 companies on the PFAS in products reporting deadline. Last year, a Maine law was passed requiring all companies to report whether or not their products contain PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ starting Jan. 1, 2023, but the Maine DEP has chosen to ignore Maine… Read more »
International Public Health Coalition Calls on Coca-Cola to Remove Cancer-Causing Chemicals from Its Plastic Bottles
Coalition demands Coca-Cola require its suppliers end the use of any antimony and cobalt compounds as processing aids or additives in its PET plastic bottles by the end of this year. More than 50 organizations including environmental justice leaders, children’s health advocates, plastic pollution activists, learning disabilities organizations and professionals, and environmental health experts from… Read more »