PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 3, 2023
Maine’s policymakers are absolutely right to tackle PFAS contamination and exposure head-on, phasing out products with PFAS ingredients while retaining important exemptions where products are essential. The Maine Board of Pesticides Control should act aggressively to phase out PFAS pesticides and promote safer alternatives for farmers, gardeners and landscapers. Maine is one of the few states in the nation that is moving aggressively to identify and eliminate forever chemicals from our environment, and paying a lot of money to protect adversely impacted residents and landowners as well as future generations. We mustn’t give the pesticides industry a free pass to poison our water, land and bodies. ~ State Rep. Bill Pluecker (I-Warren), organic farmer; Heather Spalding, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association