This session the Maine Legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee, on which I serve, has devoted a lot of time and energy to the emerging crisis of PFAS contamination.
Also known as “forever chemicals,” this class of persistent cancer-causing chemicals is a threat to public health, and we now know that our state has extensive contamination of agricultural soils, drinking water, crops, livestock and game animals.
The problem is so severe that we have even detected unhealthy levels of contamination in eggs at one farm.
It seems that the more we learn about PFAS contamination, the larger the scope of this problem becomes. That’s why I’m grateful that Sen. Susan Collins recently led a bipartisan letter to President Biden urging him to include funding for PFAS research and remediation in the fiscal year 2023 budget.PFAS exposure can have developmental effects, cause changes in the liver, immune system and thyroid function, and increase the risk of certain cancers. It’s a real public health crisis, and it is clear that facing this crisis will require resources beyond those which the state can provide.
While we work diligently in Augusta to turn off the tap and limit exposure to these toxic chemicals, it’s important for the federal government to develop a funding plan to address the scale and scope of this problem, and to help fund testing and cleanup efforts not just in Maine, but nationally. So thanks to Sen. Collins for leading this effort, and to Sen. Angus King for supporting it.
Sen. Richard Bennett, Oxford
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