PFAS refer to a group of man-made chemicals known as Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances. There are thousands of varieties of these chemicals including the six PFAS chemicals which are listed below:

• Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
• Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS)
• Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)
• Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS)
• Perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA)
• Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA)

PFAS has been widely used in household chemicals and industrial settings since the 1940s. PFAS breaks down very slowly and resides in the environment. 

Where is PFAS in Maine?

Final_Report_from_the_Maine_PFAS_Task_Force.pdf

In Maine, PFAS has been found in agricultural sites, drinking water supplies, surface waters, landfills, wastewater, sludge and septage spreading sites, and remediation and cleanup sites and has become a serious contaminant.  This contamination has come from the sludge and septage that has been added onto sites to supplement the land with nutrients. 

Sludge is a solid, semi-solid, or liquid waste generated from a wastewater treatment process as well as from dewatered septage. Septage is a fluid mixture of sewage solids, liquids and sludge of domestic origin, which is collected in and removed from a septic tank system.

More Information:

U.S. EPA on PFAS

U.S. EPA Fact Sheet

U.S. EPA Drinking Water Health Advisories for PFOA and PFOS

Department of the Navy PFAS/PFC

DACF, Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources - PFAS

ATSDR PFAS and Your Health

Maine CDC - PFAS in Public Water Systems

Maine CDC - PFAS Environmental and Community Health