![]() The state’s expanded testing also has proven beneficial because it helped authorities find out which areas don’t have a PFAS problem, Newcomb said. It has also studied waterfowl throughout the state in areas of PFAS surface water contamination. Michigan has since issued an advisory against eating organs, such as liver and kidneys, from deer, fish or any other wild game anywhere in the state. The state issued its first “do not eat” advisory in 2018 for deer taken in and near Oscoda Township. Michigan was the first state to assess PFAS in deer, said Tammy Newcomb, senior executive assistant director for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. ![]() New Hampshire authorities have also issued an advisory to avoid consuming deer liver. Some chemicals, including PFAS, can accumulate in the liver over time because the organ filters the chemicals from the blood, Wisconsin’s natural resources department told hunters. The state also asked fishermen to reduce consumption of Lake Superior’s popular rainbow smelt to one meal per month. Wisconsin has tested deer, ducks and geese for PFAS, and as a result issued a “do not eat” advisory for deer liver around Marinette, about 55 miles (89 kilometers) north of Green Bay. “Lab capacity has been challenging,” he said, “but I suspect there will be more facilities coming online to help ease that burden – in Maine and elsewhere in the country.” The state is now expanding the testing to more animals across a wider area, said Nate Webb, wildlife division director at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. The state issued a “do not eat” advisory last year for deer harvested in the Fairfield area, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) north of Portland, after several of the animals tested positive for elevated levels. Maine was one of the first states to detect PFAS in deer. “You’re getting it in your water, you’re getting it in your food, you’re getting it in wild game.” “If people are unwilling to hunt and fish, how are we going to manage those species?” he said. The discovery could have a negative impact on outdoor tourism in the short term, Trahan said. More testing will likely find the chemicals are present in other game animals besides deer, such as wild turkeys and fish, said David Trahan, executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, a hunting and outdoors advocacy group. And more than 20 states have proposed or adopted limits for PFAS in drinking water, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, signed a bill in September that bans the chemicals from cosmetics sold in the state. Environmental health advocates have said Maine’s law could be a model for other states, some working on their own PFAS legislation.Ĭalifornia Gov. ![]() In Maine, where the chemicals were detected in well water at hundreds of times the federal health advisory level, legislators passed a law in 2021 requiring manufacturers to report their use of the chemicals and to phase them out by 2030. PFAS-tainted sewage sludge has long been applied to fields as fertilizer and compost. T hey also have been used in firefighting foam and in agriculture. The chemicals get into the environment through production of consumer goods and waste. ![]()
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