Maine was first to ban spreading PFAS-contaminated sludge on farmland. Now sludge is filling up landfills.

By Sydney Cromwell | Sentient Health | November 28, 2025

Read the full article by Sydney Cromwell (Sentient Health)

"Farmland is everywhere in tiny Unity Township, from neat fields of corn to open cattle pastures. And so are layers of wet organic sludge, a onetime fertilizer that has triggered a crisis over “forever chemicals” in central Maine and how best to rid the land of the poisons.

Farmers relied on sludge from local wastewater treatment plants for years to support their crops and improve yields. Unity Township, a farming community home to less than 50 people, now has some of the highest concentrations of PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, on agricultural land anywhere in Maine.

Three years ago, Maine was the first state in the nation to recognize the risks of PFAS—manmade chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects and other dire health problems—by outlawing the use of sewage sludge on farmland. But PFAS, testing showed, had already seeped into drinking-water wells and crop roots, tainting vegetables, beef and milk."

Location:

• North AmericaUS
• North AmericaUSMaine

Topics:

• ChemicalsPFAS
• SourcesLandfills
• Environment
• Wildlife
• ImpactAgriculture
• ImpactAgricultureDairies
• ImpactAgricultureFisheries
• Health