Drinking water wells in many Maine towns are contaminated with forever chemicals, according to data from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.
According to preliminary results of the department’s survey at least 20 percent of wells in a dozen Maine towns had levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) above the department’s safety threshold of 20 parts per trillion.
The highest percentage came from Benton, a neighbor of Waterville, where 67 percent of the 43 wells sampled were above the threshold.
Elevated levels are not limited to one area of the state, DEP found.
In the Down East town of Cutler, 52 percent of wells were over. In the central Maine town of Monmouth, half of the tested wells tested too high.
In the midcoast town of Unity, 36 percent were over, and half of the 18 wells sampled in neighboring Unity Township were above the threshold.
In most towns, the results were based on samples from fewer than 50 wells. But in Fairfield, where 486 wells were sampled, 38 percent of them tested too high for PFAS.
Other towns with more than 20 percent of wells showing PFAS levels above the state threshold include: Albion, 23 percent; Corinna, 28 percent; Jackson, 42 percent; Knox/Thorndike, 25 percent; Oakland, 24 percent; and Sidney, 34 percent.
In many cases PFAS come from sewage sludge that has been spread on fields as fertilizer. Read more about PFAS in Maine here.
