News & Press
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 »
Tens of thousands of Mainers may face exposure to excessive levels of arsenic
For centuries, murderers have turned to arsenic as an ideal poison to claim their victims because it doesn’t have any color, odor or taste to alert the unwary when it’s mixed in with food and drink. So it’s no surprise that arsenic in drinking water is far from ideal. Yet testing shows that about 15%… Read more »
Group of Presque Isle residents demand action on forever chemicals in their homes
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Four Presque Isle residents sent a public letter to the Presque Isle Utilities District and state government officials on Wednesday demanding the district address the presence of PFAS chemicals — substances known for their inability to break down and their link to adverse health effects — in the residents’ land and… Read more »
PFAS Task Force Members Urge Stronger State Action to Tackle ‘Forever Chemicals’ Polluting Maine Farmland, Drinking Water
Health advocates serving on Task Force call on state policy makers to take stronger action to protect public health from toxic chemical pollution AUGUSTA—Health advocates serving on Governor Janet Mills’ PFAS Task Force urged policy makers today to go beyond Task Force recommendations and take stronger, more decisive state action, including enacting a health-protective drinking… Read more »