#pfaspollution — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #pfaspollution, aggregated by home.social.
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More about #Maine's #PFASBan from July 2025.
Excerpt:
"The Department of Environmental Protection is also recommending the board reject exemptions for #KitchenAppliances, #coffeemakers, electric fragrance warmers, and components in #CleaningProducts and furniture."Maine passed an amended law to ban #PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, in 2024. Starting next year, it will be illegal to sell a range of products from #SkiWax to #cosmetics, that include intentionally added PFAS.
PFAS are known as 'forever chemicals' because they do not easily break down in the natural environment or living tissue. The products have been linked to serious health problems in humans, including cancer, kidney disease and low birth weight."
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/adI0c#selection-1435.4-1463.13#MainePol #PFASBan #PFASPollution
#SaferChemicals #PFOS #Pollution #ForeverChemicals -
"Advocates began sounding the alarm over PFAS in pesticides in 2023. The #Biden EPA attempted to discredit the author of one study that identified PFAS in pesticides, and the agency appeared to have lied about whether some of the chemicals are in pesticides. Under Donald #Trump, the EPA has increased the number of PFAS proposed for use in pesticides."
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/18/california-pfas-forever-chemicals
#USPol #EPAFail #ForeverChemicals #DowChemicalKnew
#3MKnew #BigAg #RoundupReady #Glyphosate #Bees #Extinction #Hubris #WaterIsLife #PFASContamination #EnvironmentalDamage #EPACuts #Pollution #PFOS #PFASPollution #PFASContamnation #ManMadeDisasters #3M #3MLied #GenXChemicals
#PFNA #PFHxS -
HT @ai6yr
#California farms applied millions of pounds of #PFAS to key crops, study finds‘#ForeverChemicals’ sprayed on #almonds, #grapes, #tomatoes and other crops as activists warn of ‘obvious problem’
by Tom Perkins
Tue 18 Nov 2025 07.00 ESTExcerpt: "California farms applied an average of 2.5m lbs of PFAS “forever chemicals” per year on cropland from 2018 to 2023, or a total of about 15m lbs, a new review of state records shows.
The chemicals are added to pesticides that are sprayed on crops such as almonds, pistachios, #wine grapes, #alfalfa and tomatoes, the review of California Department of Pesticide Regulation data found. The Environmental Working Group nonprofit put together the report.
The risk for uptake of PFAS is likely higher in water-rich fruits and vegetables, because water attracts the chemicals, and research has shown PFAS may concentrate at dangerous levels in some produce. The chemicals also pollute water supplies and present a higher risk to the often low income and Latino #farmworkers."
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/18/california-pfas-forever-chemicals#ForeverChemicals #DowChemicalKnew
#3MKnew #BigAg #RoundupReady #Glyphosate #Bees #Extinction #Hubris #WaterIsLife #PFASContamination #EnvironmentalDamage #EPACuts #Pollution #PFOS #PFASPollution #PFASContamnation #ManMadeDisasters #3M #3MLied #GenXChemicals
#PFNA #PFHxS -
#MaineCDC recommends limiting fish consumption from 4 new bodies of water due to #PFAS contamination
Maine Public | By Nora Saks
Published June 30, 2025 at 5:27 PM EDT"The Maine Center for Disease Control is recommending that people limit consuming fish from four new bodies of water due to #PFASContamination.
"The new advisories apply to game fish caught in #LovejoyPond in #AlbionME, the #SebasticookRiver in #BurnhamME and #BentonCollyerBrook in #GrayME, and #AndroscogginLake in #LeedsME and #WayneME.
"The Maine CDC issued the new guidelines after elevated levels of PFAS, the group of man-made #ForeverChemicals, were detected in fish tissue sampled by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection last year.
"In the recommendations updated last week, the Maine CDC also expanded its advisories on #AnnabessacookLake in #MonmouthME and #WinthropME, and #MessalonskeeStream in #OaklandME and #WatervilleME.
"These additions bring the total number of rivers, lakes and streams that have game fish contaminated with unsafe levels of PFAS to 25.
"For more details on the consumption limits on numbers and species of freshwater fish in each waterbody, check out the Maine CDC website."
Maine CDC website:
https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/environmental-health/eohp/fish/#EPACuts #WaterIsLife #Maine #Pollution #PFAS #PFOS #ForeverChemicals #EnvironmentalDamage #Wildlife #PFASPollution #PFASContamnation #ManMadeDisasters #3M #3MLied #Scotchgard #Scotchban #BASF #Teflon #GenXChemicals #PFNA #PFHxS #Lubricants #Cosmetics #PFB #FireFightingFoam #DowChemical
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#MaineDEP says expansion of state’s largest landfill would benefit public
The decision allows the state to apply to add 61 acres to the state-owned #JuniperRidgeLandfill, which takes in 52% of the state's waste.
by Penelope Overton
October 2, 2024"Despite objections from neighbors and environmental groups, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection concluded Wednesday that expanding the state’s largest landfill, Juniper Ridge, would substantially benefit the public.
It’s not an outright approval, but the department’s decision allows the state to apply to add 61 acres to the state-owned Juniper Ridge Landfill, which takes in 52% of the state’s waste. The state claims this expansion would extend the facility’s operating life by 11 years; without it, it would run out of space by 2028."DEP Commissioner Melanie Loyzim’s decision can be appealed to the Board of Environmental Protection and the Maine courts, and several opponents of the proposed expansion, like the Boston-based #ConservationLawFoundation , say they are prepared to challenge the decision.
"'This decision recklessly gambles with public health and the environment,' said #AlexandraStPierre, the director of communities and toxics in the foundation’s #EnvironmentalJustice Program. 'It dismisses the serious concerns raised by the #PenobscotNation and other nearby residents about the harmful effects this expansion will have on their health and community.'
"She continued: 'We refuse to allow this dangerous expansion to proceed unchecked.'
"The foundation and other opponents say the #OldTown location of the facility unfairly places the burden of the state’s trash needs on the Penobscot Nation. The #leachate that #JuniperRidge produces when it rains is sent to a nearby paper mill sewer plant that discharges into the #PenobscotRiver.
[...]
"The amount of waste heading to Maine landfills has increased 34% between 2018 and 2022, according to DEP. #Sludge that was once spread on #agricultural fields is now landfilled due to forever chemical #contamination [#PFAS]. The amount of municipal solid waste landfilled during that time jumped 47%.
"While some people say Maine is not doing enough to divert waste from the #landfills – for example, a bill that would have required large #FoodWaste generators to #recycle their #scraps at a nearby facility died on the appropriations table – others object to #Casella as the facility operator.
"Casella clashed with some municipal leaders and state lawmakers when it refused to accept the #biosolids created by wastewater treatment plants at Juniper Ridge out of fear that the mushy slop, or sludge, was causing structural instability that could lead to the landfill’s collapse."
Original article:
https://www.pressherald.com/2024/10/02/maine-state-needs-to-expand-its-biggest-landfill/Archived version:
https://archive.md/VXv9m#WaterIsLife #EnvironmentalRacism #JuniperRidgeLandfill #CasellaWasteSystems #MaineNews #Maine #ToxicFire #PFASPollution
#WabanakiAlliance
#DontWasteME #Slingshot #EnvironmentalJustice #PenobscotNation #PFAS #PenobscotRiver #EnvironmentalInjustice #CompostFoodWaste #ReduceWaste -
'It's killing us': Public reacts to proposed expansion of #JuniperRidgeLandfill
Story by Katie Delaney
7/16/2024"'#JuniperRidge has destroyed the life of people who live around it. At times, it has destroyed part of the #PenobscotRiver; it has destroyed part of our air, water, and land,' Don White, a Bucksport resident, said.
"Public commenters expressed concerns about harmful #emissions, #landfill fires, and #PFAS contamination coming from the facility.
"Many of the people speaking out said Juniper Ridge is an example of #EnvironmentalInjustice, particularly for the #PenobscotNation.
"'It's killing us,' #KathyPaul, a Penobscot Nation Elder, said. 'I just feel like I'm sitting here waiting to die, and I don't mean to be an extremist or anything like that, but I'm really afraid. I can smell the difference already.'"
#WaterIsLife #JuniperRidgeLandfill #CasellaWasteSystems #MaineNews #Maine #ToxicFire #PFASPollution
#WabanakiAlliance
#DontWasteME #Slingshot #EnvironmentalJustice -
[It seems that today's vote was in favor of expanding #JuniperRidge]
Juniper Ridge Landfill is one step closer to expanding
Maine Public | By Kaitlyn BudionPublished September 20, 2024 at 1:22 PM EDT
"#Environmental groups are concerned about a draft decision from the Department of Environmental Protection that brings #JuniperRidgeLandfill in #OldTown one step closer to expanding.
"The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has issued a draft decision approving the expansion's public benefit determination, despite opposition from the #PenobscotNation, area residents and #EnvironmentalGroups.
"Opponents have brought up concerns about odors and contamination from the #PFAS-filled sludge at the #landfill.
"Alexandra St. Pierre with the #ConservationLawFoundation said the group was disappointed by the draft approval and wants the department to give greater weight to comments from the public.
"'We're hoping that Maine DEP will stop making this unnecessary space for waste and make more space for people's voices and the real needs of the community,' she said.
"In the draft, the department outlines several conditions of the approval, including conducting an odor study and installing a system for treating landfill leachate for PFAS.
"Dana Colihan with the environmental nonprofit Slingshot said it's insulting for the DEP to say the expansion is consistent with #EnvironmentalJustice for the surrounding community.
'"When we think about the odors, the #AirPollution, the #contamination of the #PenobscotRiver from the minimally treated leachate, and how all these factors threaten the Penobscot Nation and working-class #Mainers living and the surrounding communities, I can't fathom how the state can argue that this fulfills the required environmental justice criteria,' Colihan said.
"The draft is available for public comment until Friday, Sept. 27, and the DEP is expected to publish the final decision Wednesday, Oct. 2."
#WaterIsLife #SunlightMediaCollective
#JuniperRidgeLandfill
#CasellaWasteSystems #MaineNews #Maine #ToxicFire #PFASPollution
#WabanakiAlliance
#DontWasteME #Slingshot -
#FloorWaxing could be an important source of #PFAS #contamination, with increased #occupational health risks for #workers
May 25, 2022
"There’s a special satisfaction that comes from walking on perfectly shined floors — but is it worth the potential risk to floor waxing workers?
"A study published earlier this year measured per- and #polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in #dust and airborne #ParticulateMatter [which means it's going into the air that everyone breathes -- just not humans] during professional floor stripping and waxing. After estimating PFAS emission rates generated from the process, researchers concluded that significantly higher levels of PFAS were present during floor waxing.
"The study was led by Jiaqi Zhou, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the UNC-Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health. Collaborators include Karsten Baumann; Naomi Chang; Glenn Morrison; Wanda Bodnar; Zhenfa Zhang; Jason Surratt; and Barbara J. Turpin — all with the Gillings School — and Joanna M. Atkin, with UNC’s Department of Chemistry.
"PFAS are human-produced chemicals commonly used in industry and consumer products. Most PFAS do not break down over time, so they remain in the environment and in the bodies of exposed human and #animals long after initial use. Scientific studies have shown that exposure to PFAS may be linked to harmful health effects, which was the impetus for this study.
"Published in Atmospheric Environment, the paper reports that floor waxing floor waxing workers could have increased occupational health risks due to PFAS exposures.
“Assessment of occupational exposure due to floor maintenance is important because PFAS exposures can lead to increased risk of #cancer, #immunotoxicity and #neurodevelopmental problems, the co-authors write."
#PFASPollution #WaterIsLife #EnvironmentalPollution #CleaningProducts #FloorWax #EnvironmentalPollution
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Study to focus on how #PFAS travels from Maine's rural schools to #ResidentialWells
MDI Bio Lab plans to sample water from homeowners near several #HancockCounty schools."Scientists say #cleaning supplies and #FloorWax commonly used in schools are made with PFAS chemicals that go through septic systems and seep into the #groundwater. Mount Desert Island Regional School System Superintendent Mike Zboray said the district hopes to switch to #PFASfree alternatives."
Author: Vivien Leigh (NEWS CENTER Maine)
Published: 6:15 PM EDT May 23, 2024BAR HARBOR, Maine — Researchers plan to test residential wells near several Hancock County schools to determine if their wastewater is causing the spread of PFAS chemicals.
Filtration systems were installed at Mount Desert High School several years ago after elevated levels of toxic chemicals were discovered in its drinking water.
#Maine #PFASPollution #FloorWax #Schools #MaineSchools #WaterIsLife #EnvironmentalPollution #CleaningProducts