MANUFACTURING DIVE • May 13, 2025
Maine is gaining attention for having some of the country’s strictest PFAS regulations. In 2016, state officials began investigating PFAS contamination on farms fertilized with wastewater sludge; the compounds have now been discovered on more than 100 farms in the state. The discovery of widespread contamination led to Maine lawmakers passing a groundbreaking bill in 2021 to ban the compounds from most products sold in the state. “The only way we can prevent further PFAS contamination is to stop it from coming into the state,” said Sarah Woodbury, VP of Defend Our Health, a Maine nonprofit that pushed for the legislation. Maine’s ban remains among the strictest in the nation. With a ban on PFAS in many types of consumer products going into effect next year, manufacturers and environmental advocates alike see Maine as a testing ground for how PFAS regulation could play out in other states.