To: Committee on Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry
From: Patricia Rubert-Nason, Sierra Club Maine
Date: January 20, 2022
Re: Testimony in Support of LD 1911 - An Act To Prohibit the Contamination of Clean Soils with So-called Forever Chemicals
Senator Dill, Representative O’Neil, and Members of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry. My name is Patricia Rubert-Nason, and I write on behalf of Sierra Club and the over 20,000 members and supporters in Maine. Founded in 1892, Sierra Club is one of our nation’s oldest and largest environmental organizations. We work diligently to amplify the power of our 3.8 million members nationwide as we defend everyone's right to a healthy world. In support of that mission, we strongly support LD 1911 and urge you to vote “ought-to-pass.”
PFAS are a class of chemicals that contain strong carbon-fluorine bonds that keep them from degrading, leading them to accumulate in the environment over time. They also bind to blood proteins, so they tend to accumulate within human and animal bodies, rather than being eliminated.1
According to the FDA: The widespread use of PFAS and their ability to remain intact in the environment means that over time PFAS levels from past and current uses can result in increasing levels of contamination of groundwater and soil.This same accumulation also can occur in humans and animals, with PFAS found in the blood of humans and animals worldwide.2
PFAS chemicals not only accumulate in the environment, they negatively impact human health. The National Institute of Health and Environmental Sciences3 has documented links between human exposures to PFAS and adverse health outcomes including altered metaboism, decreased fertility, reduced fetal growth, increased risk of being overweight or obese and reduced ability of the immune system to fight infections. 3 https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/pfc/index.cfm 2 https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/statement-fdas-scientific-work-understand-and-p olyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfas-food-and-findings 1 https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/curated-collections/pfas
Maine is seeing widespread impacts of PFAS contamination of our land and waters. In recent years at least 3 Maine farms have had to stop selling milk and/or beef due to PFAS contamination4 including one farm with shockingly high levels of PFAS documented in their milk, a Fort Fairfield dairy farm with PFAS levels over 150 times the allowable level.5
PFAS contamination is not limited to farms. At least 191 wells and water sources have so far been identified as contaminated by PFAS;5 a ‘do not eat’ advisory has been issued for deer harvested in the Fort Fairfield area;6 and the DEP (and other agencies) are investigating over 700 sites for potential PFAS contamination.5 Clearly, we have a problem with PFAS contamination in Maine.
Contaminated sludge and compost is believed to be one of the major sources of PFAS contamination in Maine.5 Until we stop spreading contaminated sludge and compost, the PFAS contamination problem in Maine will continue to get worse. LD 1911 would effectively address this problem by requiring regular testing of sludge and compost for PFAS and setting limits on the acceptable levels of contamination.
As a mother, I worry about my children’s futures. PFAS are commonly known as “forever chemicals” for a reason. Their breakdown rate in the environment is negligible. As long as we continue to produce them and release them they will continue to accumulate at ever-higher levels and present increasing health risks. I worry that if we don’t address this issue now my children and their children, on into the future, will find clean water and healthy soils to grow food for their families scarce or unavailable.
We didn’t always understand the risk that persistent chemicals such as PFAS posed. But now we do. And now is the time to act to keep the contamination problem we are already facing in Maine from getting worse. We urge the committee to vote “ought-to-pass” on LD 1911.
Sincerely, Patricia Rubert-Nason Sierra Club Maine Volunteer