News & Press
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, Defend Our Health is urging Maine to level the playing field by prohibiting unnecessary toxic per- and… Read more »
Defend Our Health Applaud Committee Passage of Lead Testing Bill
Following eye-opening events in Flint, Michigan, Maine sets a health protective standard for lead in school drinking water Augusta, Maine – The Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee voted today to take a critical step towards protecting school children in Maine from toxic chemicals. The committee passed a bill to increase health protections for Maine children… Read more »
Additional PFAS-contaminated Wells in Fairfield Demand Policy Response
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… Read more »
In Important First Step, Maine Requires Reporting of a “Forever Chemical” in Consumer Products
Advocates call for passage of pending legislation to expand scope to all uses of all PFAS The Maine Board of Environmental Protection adopted a rule today requiring manufacturers to report the use of PFOS (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid) in a wide range of consumer products. Under Maine’s Kid Safe Products Act, the reporting requirement is a first step in… Read more »
Mainers Urge Lawmakers to Hold ‘Forever Chemicals’ Polluters Accountable
After news of second farm with high levels of toxic ‘forever chemicals’ in milk, impacted Mainers, health advocates, and legislators speak out Impacted Mainers, experts, health advocates, and a legislator spoke out publicly Monday at a virtual press conference demanding the state take urgent action and hold polluters accountable after news broke that another Maine… Read more »
Statement: Another Maine Dairy Has Record-Breaking Levels of ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Milk, as Legislature Considers Bill to Hold Polluters Accountable
A dairy farm in central Maine was found to have record-breaking levels of a toxic PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance) in its milk, according to Maine’s Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry. This farm’s milk contained over twenty times the levels found in milk at Stoneridge Farm in Arundel, Maine, which made national headlines in… Read more »
Senator Susan Collins Opposes Trump Nominee to Oversee Consumer Safety: Statement
Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced this morning that she will oppose the Trump Administration’s nomination of Nancy Beck to oversee the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The announcement came after health advocates in Maine publicly called on Senator Collins to prioritize Mainers’ health and oppose Beck’s nomination. Beck is a former chemical industry lobbyist who has worked… Read more »
Defend Our Health Mourns Passing of Board Member Alain J. Nahimana
The Portland, Maine-based health advocacy organization Defend Our Health mourns the sudden passing of board member Alain J. Nahimana and offers our condolences to his family, friends, colleagues, and community. Alain J. Nahimana, founder and executive director of the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center, was a member of the Strategy Center board of directors since… Read more »
Maine Labor Leaders, Doctors, and Public Health Experts Call on Congressional Delegation to Protect Frontline Workers During Pandemic
Leaders from Maine’s labor, medical, public health, and immigrant communities today sent a letter to the state’s congressional delegation calling for urgent federal action to protect all of Maine’s frontline workers providing essential services during the COVID-19 pandemic, including by increasing production and distribution of appropriate personal protective equipment, and to invest much more in… Read more »
Governor Janet Mills Signs Renewable Products Tax Credit into Law, Establishing Maine as Climate Leader with Incentive to Create Good Green Jobs
The competitive tax credit is projected to create or retain over 1,000 high-paying green jobs manufacturing climate-friendly products over the next ten years Maine business leaders, entrepreneurs, and environmental groups praised Governor Janet Mills for signing into law on Wednesday a tax credit that will create hundreds of good-paying jobs making climate-friendly products from renewable… Read more »