PFAS

BDN advances Mitchell Center PFAS initiative

The Bangor Daily News shared a University of Maine news release about researchers from the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions helping identify sources of and management strategies for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

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Biosolids being spread on a field

Mitchell Center researchers examine options for managing PFAS 

Researchers from the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions at the University of Maine will help identify sources of and management strategies for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). In response to concerns raised by many different stakeholders, the interdisciplinary team of Mitchell Center scientists is gathering and documenting knowledge of where PFAS are […]

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Maine Sustainability & Water Conference

Maine Sustainability & Water Conference goes virtual on March 31 and April 1

Although gathering in the Augusta Civic Center is not an option for this year’s Maine Sustainability & Water Conference, the event will go on as a virtual gathering to be held on March 31 and April 1. Maulian Dana, Penobscot Nation Tribal Ambassador, will deliver the keynote address: “Connection, Not Ownership: The Sacred Relationship Between […]

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Bloomberg interviews MacRae about PFA-containing liquid from landfill waste

Jean MacRae spoke with Bloomberg about concerns involving leachate, particularly from the Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town. According to Bloomberg, leachate “is a liquid that forms when rain water filters through garbage” that is “a source of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS),” which has been connected with various health problems. The associate professor of […]

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GQ interviews Miner about PFAS on Everest

GQ interviewed Kimberley Miner, a University of Maine assistant professor with the Climate Change Institute, about the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or forever chemicals, shed by climbers and gear left behind on Everest.

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Tents on Mount Everest

Miner finds outdoor gear ‘forever chemicals’ in snow near Everest summit 

“Forever chemicals” used in water-repellant outdoor gear have been found in snow from the top of Mount Everest.  Kimberley Miner says these human-made per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — which have been linked to birth defects, high cholesterol and increased risk of kidney and testicular cancer — could eventually pose a risk for trekkers, climbers […]

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C&EN interviews Miner on organic pollutant found in Arctic

Chemical & Engineering News interviewed Kimberley Rain Miner, research assistant professor with the University of Maine Climate Change Institute, for the article titled “CFC replacements are a source of persistent organic pollution in the Arctic.” Researchers have discovered short-chain compounds of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a type of organic pollutant, in ice cores in the Arctic, […]

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