I had asked for assignment on the Natural Resources and Environment Committee in order to make well-researched decisions to protect air, water, and public health. It was in that 123rd Legislature that I got an education on forever chemicals. We heard in-person testimony from high-powered experts, including chemical industry lobbyists from Louisiana and a world-renown South African endocrine specialist. The Legislature took important action.

We passed an act to prevent infant exposure to harmful endocrine-disrupting bisphenol A and other phthalates.

When we heard firefighters testify that they feared for their health from their exposure to firefighting foam and the burning of stain-resistant fabric in mattresses, carpets and furniture, we addressed a bill authorizing rule-making to ban use of these specific flame-retardants whenever a safer alternative was available.

That same term we passed a Kids Safe Products bill to protect Maine children from toxic chemicals in children’s products. In April, 2008, Gov. Baldacci signed Hannah Pingree’s bill into law, Maine’s first-ever comprehensive chemical policy.

Forever chemicals are so-called because of their long half-lives, being resistant to natural degradation. These 4,000 compounds called PFAS, or poly-fluoroalkyl substances, are of concern because of their toxicity, mobility, and bio-accumulation. The two most common of these, developed after World War II by 3M, were PFOS and PFOA. They are used in non-stick cookware such as Teflon, which was manufactured in the U.S. for 50 years.

In 2016, the EPA issued the first drinking water Lifetime Health Advisory regarding PFOA and PFOS, identifying 70 parts per trillion as the level at which drinking water should not be consumed unless action to reduce exposure is taken.

Unlike drugs, new chemicals can enter the market without regulatory hurdles for safety, and in recent decades, the federal government’s EPA has been slow to act. Although they say it’s an “ongoing priority,” the federal government has not officially designated PFAS as hazardous, but instead as emerging contaminants, contributing to high cholesterol, decreased effectiveness of vaccines, thyroid disease, decreased fertility in women, kidney disease, testicular cancer, high blood pressure in pregnant women, and low birth weight. Almost all of us have measurable PFAS levels in our blood that has accumulated in recent years.

Fred Stone, an Arundel dairy farmer, got a letter in 2016 from the Kennebunk Kennebunkport and Wells Water District informing him of high PFAS levels in their water. The water district shut down its new well in West Kennebunk. Although PFAS levels averaged below the EPA threshold, they put in an expensive 12-foot diameter filter of reactivated carbon and re-opened the well. The water district, which serves nearly 35,000 people, installed a new water treatment system to remove PFAS that required an investment of about $1.5 million.

In March, 2019, Gov. Mills issued an executive order forming an 11-member commission on PFAS contamination in Maine Last year the legislature addressed PFAS by passing into law “An Act to Protect the Environment and Public Health by Further Reducing Toxic Chemicals in Packaging.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Stone, with PFAS found in his farm well, milk, hay, and soil, was forced to shut down his dairy farm. He has spent thousands of dollars for remediation, but he concludes that his “land and cattle are worthless, and he is still in debt with health issues.”

Those who have suffered economic harm or compromised health due to PFAS could seek compensation in court, but the statute of limitations is six years from the date of original contamination.

PFAS contamination can happen over decades.

Enter Rep. Henry Ingwersen of Arundel, who introduced a bill which starts the clock on statute of limitations on the date of the harm or injury is discovered, or reasonably should have been discovered. The public hearing last week was by Zoom before my Committee on Judiciary.

I asked many questions for the academic and legal minds Rep. Ingwersen had assembled to testify in favor of the bill. I certainly supported the intent. But not wanting to shoot the messenger, I want to protect from unwarranted litigation the ratepayers of water and sewer districts whose management acted in good faith. I also wanted to know what other states were doing regarding PFAS.

The next day, Rep. Ingwersen called to inquire if there was anything I needed. I was busily preparing for deliberation of bills regarding Maine’s tribes, so I said, ‘Yes, Henry, thank you, you can get me three things: First, the language of Maine Tort Claims law that protects municipal districts, second, the DEP’s guidelines regarding the spreading of sewage sludge to agricultural destinations, and third, the language from the EPA designating an “unsafe” level of PFAS in drinking water.’

He got on the phone, and that evening I was emailed those answers, and, thanks to the Environmental Health Strategy Center, information that 37 other states, including New Hampshire and Vermont, have similar laws.

I thank Rep. Ingwersen for working hard on this issue, getting important information to me, and bringing this bill forward to help Mainers harmed by PFAS to better be able to pursue justice. As of this writing, a majority of the Judiciary Committee have supported the bill. But, like so many of the improvements that have resulted from the bills crafted over two years of work, they only become law if the 129th Maine Legislature returns, this time to the Augusta Civic Center, for special session.

Christopher Babbidge is representative for House District 8 and lives in Kennebunk. He can be reached at babbidge@roadrunner.com.

Copy the Story Link

Comments are not available on this story.