Invisible and Indestructible

Maine’s strong policy response could mitigate future expenses, but short-term expenditures are proliferating and many costs remain untallied.

With Maine facing escalating costs from contamination due to ‘forever chemicals,’ work is under way to recoup some losses.

Found in water, air, soil, food, consumer products and work settings, “forever chemicals” pose risks to both physical health and mental well-being.

Under Maine’s phased-in PFAS ban, manufacturers will soon be required to report on PFAS types and volumes in products, but the state is granting many businesses a 6-month extension.

Individual actions can minimize exposure to “forever chemicals" until policy measures, like Maine’s ban on PFAS in products, take effect.

Risks from ‘forever chemicals’ have ended a half-century of spreading sludge onto Maine farmland and raised unanswered questions about contamination of foods.

Maine enacted legislation to foster use of safer food packaging materials, but three years later the state has yet to begin rule-making.