Over the past five years, Defend Our Health has lived up to its name by consistently advocating for the right to equal access to safe food and drinking water. Defend has led the nation in effectively protecting public health and ensuring justice for people harmed by ‘forever chemicals’ known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl) for citizens across the country. As we begin our work in 2024, we want to reflect on all of the accomplishments we’ve accumulated so far!

2019

In 2019, we met Fred Stone, a third-generation dairy farmer whose farm had been impacted by PFAS contamination. We helped Fred Stone tell his story of being ruined by PFAS to local and national media. Defend’s introduction to Fred Stone set us on a path to becoming passionate advocates against PFAS contamination in the state of Maine. 

Another accomplishment Defend achieved is that we convinced the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to test wastewater sludge for PFAS and ban most spreading before the Spring planting season after 95% of samples exceeded the new standards.

Lastly, in 2019, Defend led the campaign that banned PFAS in food packaging. Maine was the second state in the nation to act on  PFAS contamination in food packaging.

2020

In 2020, Defend Our Health served on the PFAS Task Force, appointed by Maine Governor Janet Mills, which advocated for widespread testing for contamination and preventive policy actions.

2021

In 2021, due to Defend’s advocacy alongside impacted farmers, Maine became the first state to require that all farmland sites where wastewater sludge was ever spread be tested for PFAS pollution of soil and groundwater. LD 1600 “An Act To Investigate Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Contamination of Land and Groundwater,” was passed on July 15, 2021, and is a crucial piece of legislation to ensure the safety and well-being of farmers and community members whose water supply or soil is contaminated with PFAS. 

Maine also made history passing the first law in the world that requires that all uses of PFAS be disclosed and phased out by 2030 (unless the use is truly essential and without an alternative). LD 1503 “An Act To Stop Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Pollution,” was passed on July 15, 2021, with the goal of new products containing PFAS not being sold as of Jan. 1, 2030, and that the presence of PFAS chemicals in any product must be reported to the Maine Department of Environmental Quality starting in January 2023.

Lastly, Maine became the sixth state in the nation to adopt a health-protective standard for several types of PFAS in drinking water.

2022

Maine made history again by becoming the first state in the country to ban all farmland spreading of wastewater sludge due to PFAS. With our allies, Defend secured $60 million for a PFAS Compensation Fund to deliver economic justice and medical monitoring to impacted farmers and well-owners.

2023

In 2023, Defend defeated the chemical industry’s first attempt to roll back Maine’s law on phasing out PFAS in products.

While our PFAS fight started in Maine, throughout 2023, we began looking outwards to the fight nationally. We’ve worked alongside impacted farmers in Michigan and South Carolina with handfuls of other states modeling their PFAS response after Maine’s.

With farmers from many states, Defend is working to amend the federal Farm Bill to create a compensation fund for all who have been harmed. We’ve also worked alongside communities in the Gulf Coast and their fight against petrochemical companies polluting fenceline communities through air and water. 

As we transition into 2024, we hope to create even more lasting change in Maine, while assisting the fight across the country. 
Want to get involved? Help us achieve our goal by telling your representative to adopt the Relief for Farmers Hit With PFAS Act into the 2024 Farm Bill.