State officials said they have found high levels of “forever chemicals” in some deer harvested in the greater Fairfield area and on Tuesday issued a do-not-eat advisory for deer harvested in the region.
Map from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Fairfield is the so-called hot spot that has been the focal point of state testing for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS. The do-not-eat area is bordered by several towns including Smithfield, Clinton, Oakland and Benton.
The advisory area includes farm fields that have been contaminated by spreading municipal or industrial sludge for fertilizer that contained PFAS. The substances – used in products ranging from cookware to carpets and firefighting foams – are known as “forever chemicals” because they are very slow to break down and can be found in soil, water, plants and animals. These chemicals can increase the risk of certain types of cancer, elevate blood pressure during pregnancy, can cause liver and kidney problems and can impair the immune system.
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, working in conjunction with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said Tuesday that it has detected high levels of PFAS in five of eight deer that were taken in close proximity to fields that had extremely high PFAS levels. Those deer had levels high enough in their meat to warrant a recommendation not to eat more than two or three meals a year.
Three other deer were tested from fields with lower PFAS levels that were two miles away. While those deer had lower PFAS levels, they were still high enough to warrant a recommendation to eat less than one meal per week. Out of an abundance of caution, the IF&W decided to impose a do-not-eat advisory for all deer in the area of the Fairfield PFAS sites.
The advisory area includes multiple farm fields. Deer feeding in those fields have ingested the chemicals and now have PFAS in their meat an organs, according to the state. Sludge from paper mills or wastewater treatment plans were applied as fertilizer to those fields. The sludge contained high levels of the “forever chemicals,” unbeknownst to the farmers who spread it for years.
“Recent testing of deer harvested in the area show elevated levels of PFAS in both the meat and liver of deer,” IF&W Commissioner Judy Camuso said in a statement. “We take the elevated levels seriously and advise people not to eat deer that were harvested in these areas.”
A map of the advisory area can be found at www.maine.gov/ifw/docs/FairfieldAdvisoryArea.pdf and more information is available from the MDIFW at 207-287-8000 or [email protected]
PFAS substances have been used for decades in a variety of household and consumer products, including non-stick cookware, carpet, waterproof clothing, and food packaging products such as pizza boxes and microwave popcorn bags. Known as forever chemicals because they are slow to break down, PFAS persist in the environment and are found in soil, water, plants and animals. Over time, exposure to these chemicals have been known to increase the risk of some types of cancer, elevate blood pressure during pregnancy, and can cause liver and kidney problems.
Paper mills have used a lot of PFAS – and in some cases still do – in the coatings that keep grease or liquids from soaking through picnic plates, takeout food containers, pizza boxes, microwave popcorn bags and fast-food wrappers.
According to records compiled by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, which licensed and regulated the land application of sludge, eight paper companies spread more than 500,000 cubic yards of paper mill waste in Maine between 1989 and 2016. That is a conservative and potentially incomplete figure, nor does it include the hundreds of thousands of cubic yards spread by wastewater treatment plants, some of which process paper mill sludge and wastewater.
This story will be updated.
Maine issues 'do not eat' order for deer harvested near PFAS contaminated fields in Somerset County - Press Herald
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