BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 10, 2026
In the fall, a state program sent out nearly 700 letters to people whose wells tested high for PFAS, encouraging them to get tested and offering state help in paying for tests. But the effort has been slow to start, with the state collecting only 164 positive tests as of mid-February, likely a fraction of those who have been exposed to high PFAS levels. Reluctance and other barriers to testing, including lack of insurance, have meant that few Mainers are getting tested even after the statewide push that is aimed at tracking health conditions linked to exposure and finding new hotspots for contamination. Maine officials have identified more than 90 farms that have unsafe levels of PFAS. In 2022, lawmakers approved a $60 million PFAS Fund aimed at helping farmers and others whose land was affected by sewage sludge spreading, the now-banned practice that began in the 1980s and unwittingly caused widespread pollution. “Some people are saying, ‘I don’t want to know if something’s going to kill me.’”