PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 18, 2023
My family has been unknowingly living on contaminated land for 30 years. My father died six years ago. Among his diagnoses were colon and prostate cancers. My mother is now terminally ill. She has end-stage chronic kidney disease and multiple system atrophy. My blood, and that of my mother, shows unacceptable levels of PFOS, the forever chemical directly linked to the paper industry. Our blood and our soils correlate. PFAS contamination is and has been creating a health crisis with catastrophic outcomes. It’s time Mainers connect the dots between illness and causation: long-term poisoning. ~ Holly Dickinson Amidon, Windham