A wild turkey crosses a road in Starks on March 21. State officials issued a do-not-food advisory for wild deer and turkeys Thursday morning after tests found dangerous levels of synthetic chemicals known as PFAS in central Maine wildlife. The advisory was issued for parts of Unity, Unity Township, Albion and Freedom. File Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

UNITY — State officials issued a do-not-eat advisory on wild deer and turkey Thursday morning after testing found dangerous levels of PFAS in central Maine wildlife.

Two new advisory areas nicknamed “forever chemicals.”

The advisory areas cover several miles near the Casella Organics Unity Landfill, near Maine State Route 139, also known as Waterville Road, and an area east of Albion along U.S. Route 202, commonly known as Albion Road.

Both regions are known to have high levels of PFAS in their soil, according to Mark Latti, communications director for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

“THE Advisory areas encompass areas that have been contaminated with high levels of PFAS due to the land application of municipal and/or industrial sludge containing PFAS. Latti said in a press release. “Deer and turkeys feeding in these contaminated areas have ingested these chemicals and now contain PFAS in their meat and organs.

The advisory comes at the height of Maine’s fall turkey hunting season, which ends Nov. 7, and a little more than a week before Maine deer hunting is in full swing when gun season begins on November 4.

Research shows that PFAS contamination could lead to long-term health problems, including increased risk of testicular cancer, liver damage, pregnancy complications, and other adverse health risks.

The state has maintained a similar advisory near Fairfield and Waterville since 2021 due to dangerous amounts of PFAS found in deer and turkey meat.

PFAS contamination in Maine is largely linked to the spreading of sludge on farms as an alternative to fertilizer starting in the 1970s. Decades later, Unity-area farms were among the first in the State to close their doors after chemicals were found in agricultural products and cow’s milk.

Many Unity farmers are spreading PFAS-laden sludge on their land after encouragement from the state, according to Dr. Gail Carlson, director of the Buck Lab for Climate and Environment at Colby College, who has studied the causes and effects of PFAS contamination in and around Unity. for years.

“It was presented as a win-win situation, a good situation for farmers because they could take the sludge and get virtually free fertilizer from the state in many places, including Maine,” he said. she said during an interview in December 2023. “No. all of the land that was dispersed was farmland, but much of it is, especially in central Maine. I think other states have problems, but they may be late in discovering them.»

Unity’s water well testing also found that more than a third of the city’s homes had unsafe levels of PFAS in their water, with unsafe well clusters detected in areas with do-not-notice advisories. eat were issued Thursday, according to data from the Maine State Department. Environmental protection showed.

“Areas with high soil PFAS concentration levels resulted in animals with levels of PFAS in their muscle tissue that warranted an advisory,” Latti said. “The department and the Maine CDC recommend that no one eats deer or wild turkey harvested in these wildlife consumption advisory areas.

The Maine state legislature has been aggressive in its response to PFAS, becoming the first state to ban the use and land application of sludge in 2022 and passing a first-in-the-nation PFAS reporting law requiring that Manufacturers of products containing intentionally added PFAS will report to the DEP starting in 2025, before banning the sale of certain items containing PFAS in Maine starting in 2030.

Testing of groundwater sources for PFAS became mandatory after the state legislature passed a law in 2021 providing $3,600,000 to test and mitigate PFAS contamination.

The state also proposes to pay for filters that remove chemicals from drinking water and part of the cost of medical treatment for PFAS-related illnesses.

IF&W, the Maine Centers for Disease Control and other state agencies plan to continue testing for PFAS in wildlife and environments near Unity and throughout the state, according to Latti.

“The department will continue to test deer and other wildlife in the region and beyond, to try to determine the extent of PFAS in Maine’s wildlife.” said Latti.

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