From the Frontlines of the PFAS Fight
Colby hosts a gathering of experts to discuss the current work around forever chemicals
Policymakers, scientists, farmers, tribal members, and health and environmental advocates came to Colby this week to share the latest research about PFAS contamination and talk about the next steps in Maine’s nation-leading effort to understand, analyze, and remediate the forever chemicals.
The presence of PFAS chemicals, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, harm our drinking water and farmland and impact our quality of life. Human-made chemicals that were invented for their durability, the pollutants are found in food, water, clothing, kitchen utensils, and myriad everyday products. PFAS have been linked with cancer and other diseases, as well as immune suppression and mental health issues.
They’re particularly present in central Maine, where high levels of contamination in soil and groundwater have been detected. In the 1980s, it was common to use sludge from wastewater treatment facilities and paper mills as farmland fertilizer. Later, it was discovered the sludge contaminated the farms, leading to the public health crisis playing out now.
On Feb. 25, Colby co-hosted the second PFAS Impacts in Agriculture and Food Systems in Maine day-long conference, attended by many of the scientists doing the most recent and leading research around the topic. That evening, Carly Griffith ’11 returned to campus to talk with environmental studies students about her work on the PFAS issue as water program director for the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.
‘No doubt, PFAS pollution is a major problem in Maine and around the world. But the response from Maine’s researchers, advocates, farmers, tribal members, policymakers, and others has been vigorous and collaborative, and it is creating a blueprint for people everywhere. This gives me hope.’
Gail Carlson, Director of the Buck Lab for Climate and Environment
The Buck Lab for Climate and Environment sponsored the conference, with organizing help from the University of Maine, Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Maine Farmland Trust, Penobscot Indian Nation Department of Natural Resources, and many other organizations.
This is the second time Colby has hosted. The first was in November 2023.
Forum for the latest science
The purpose of the gathering was to create a forum for researchers to discuss the latest state-wide work, although organizers cautioned the information presented was preliminary and asked presenters and participants to keep it confidential because it had not been vetted.
Approximately 20 researchers and representatives of state agencies presented their findings and policy updates in five themed sessions, each with three to five presenters. Each presenter was limited to 10 minutes, so it was a top-level overview of the latest information about PFAS in wild and cultivated plants, in livestock and other animals, in water systems, human exposure and health impacts, and state policies.
Among the presenters was Charlotte Torrey ’26, a chemistry and environmental policy double major, who explained the results of her project interviewing central Maine farmers about their experiences with PFAS contamination, including emotional and mental health responses.
Maine has taken a leading national role in finding ways to mitigate the PFAS problem, said Gail Carlson, assistant professor of environmental studies, director of the Buck Lab, and principal conference organizer each time Colby has hosted. Maine has been investigating and regulating forever chemicals since 2016, and the state has some of the strictest PFAS laws in the country. That is thanks in part to testimony before state legislators by Carlson and her students, who have conducted some of the research, as well as researchers from the University of Maine and advocates from organizations present at the conference, including Maine Farmland Trust, Maine Organic Farmers Gardeners Association, and others.
“No doubt, PFAS pollution is a major problem in Maine and around the world. But the response from Maine’s researchers, advocates, farmers, tribal members, policymakers, and others has been vigorous and collaborative, and it is creating a blueprint for people everywhere,” Carlson said. “This gives me hope.”
Among the take-aways:
UMaine researchers are studying soil-to-plant PFAS uptake pathways, which is important because that information can be used to predict how much PFAS will be taken up by a specific crop given the soil contamination level or to understand the level of PFAS in soil that is associated with negligible plant uptake.
Work on remediating PFAS in soil is ongoing, including adding amendments to soil, such as biochar and high-carbon ash, and results are mixed. And then there is the problem of how to manage and dispose of amendment substances that have taken up high levels of PFAS.
Central Aroostook Soil and Water District is collaborating on a project with the Mi’kmaq Nation to understand the role of contaminated surface water used for irrigation on common crops grown in Aroostook County.
Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention is looking at human exposure, including via backyard chicken eggs, soil-to-forage-to-beef cattle pathways, direct soil contact through various activities on a farm, highly contaminated water ingestion, and fish consumption above the advisory level.
Why it matters
Lindsay Pollard, PFAS research coordinator at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, said the gathering enabled researchers, experts, and advocates to hear directly from people doing the work, offer input, and ask questions about ongoing research.
“It’s a chance to hear in real time about some of the most important work that is happening right now,” she said. “There is so much research going on and there are so many new findings to discuss.”
Tracy Kelly, environmental project manager at Maine Department of Environmental Protection, said the Colby conference highlighted the connections and importance of communication among researchers, policymakers, farmers, and Indigenous communities, whose cultural traditions are threatened by the pervasive nature of the contaminants.
“It’s really difficult to get the word out about what everyone is doing and what they are learning, so bringing together farmers and academics and government agencies and nonprofits to hear what others are working on is part of the process that leads to solutions,” she said.
In addition, Kelly said it was valuable to gather as a relatively small group, where colleagues can talk face to face instead of in a video meeting or at a large conference. “This more intimate environment is important to constructive conversations,” she said.
That is why Colby and the Buck Lab have stepped up to offer leadership around this issue, Carlson said.
“I think something like this is as important as a large professional meeting, maybe more, because people can present information in accessible ways and also make valuable linkages with each other,” she said. “In this environment, people are really good about presenting their information in an accessible, digestible way. And that’s really important, because there are broad stakeholders in the room and not everybody understands analytical chemistry and technical jargon.”
Stories from Minnesota
In her first time back on campus since graduating in 2011, Griffith talked to students about her academic journey as an independent major at Colby to her master’s at Brown in American studies to her Ph.D. in geography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
In her position as water program director at the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, Griffith works to protect the state’s water resources and has spent considerable time on the PFAS issue. Working in Minnesota, Griffith said she and her colleagues have “a unique responsibility” because Minnesota is home to the chemical manufacturer 3M Company, which first produced PFAS chemicals in the 1940s and has been held legally liable for PFAS damages across the country.
It’s been a busy few years, she said.
In 2023 Minnesota passed “Amara’s Law” to phase out the non-essential use of PFAS in at least 11 product categories. She noted there is currently a draft wastewater permit for a 3M plant that discharges into the Mississippi River in the Twin Cities, which, if finalized, would be the first industrial wastewater permit to include PFAS discharge limits. Minnesota also has just started to tackle the issue of PFAS in biosolids with a new state agency work plan.
Her talk covered how environmental advocates have been involved in these strategies and the pushback they have encountered. The work, she said, is urgent because forever chemicals are everywhere.
“At this point, they’re basically ubiquitous in the environment. We see them from polar bears in the Arctic to all of our bloodstreams,” she said, adding that she was impressed with the work happening in Maine—and at Colby.
Given uncertainties about staffing at federal science agencies, it’s important for states to take the lead on environmental issues and regulations, she said. “I’m excited to work within a state-level advocacy organization where we can really hold the line on some of these critical issues.”
