MAINE PUBLIC • July 9, 2021
The Legislature has passed a number of bills over the last few months to address the threat of so-called “forever chemicals,” which can take hundreds of years to break down and have been linked to health problems including cancer, low infant birth weights and compromised immune systems. The new legislation includes stricter PFAS pollution standards, regulation of their use, and a provision making it easier for affected Mainers to sue polluters. Gov. Janet Mills has so far signed at least four of those bills, and her budget also provides more than $20 million for the agencies responding to the problem.