The Impact of PFAS Contamination on Small-Scale Farms in Maine: Risks, Gaps, and Uncertainties (Updated May 28, 2023): Social Sciences

2023 JUN 09 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- According to news reporting based on a preprint abstract, our journalists obtained the following quote sourced from osf.io:

“Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of several thousand toxic industrial chemicals that persist indefinitely in the environment. PFAS contamination of soil and water in the United States is potentially widespread, although the process of documenting the extent of contamination is in early stages.

“In particular, the once-widespread practice of using municipal wastewater biosolids to fertilize agricultural land has resulted in PFAS deposits in the soils of farms.

“This paper explores the impact of PFAS contamination on small-scale agriculture in Maine, a state that has established a leading position in policy related to PFAS research and remediation. After describing the role of small-scale agriculture in Maine’s culture and economy and reviewing the current state of knowledge about PFAS soil contamination, the paper takes up three broad questions: (1) to what extent do PFAS pose unique reputational, economic, and personal health risks to the owners-operators of small-scale farms, (2) how do gaps in state-level policies shift the burden of risk management to individual farmers, and (3) how do scientific and policy uncertainties related to PFAS affect small-scale farmers’ efforts to adapt to actual or presumed contamination. Data come from secondary literature and targeted interviews with policymakers and NGO leaders who are active on agricultural and environmental issues.

“While not intended to be comprehensive, this paper draws attention to the distinctive ways that small-scale farmers have experienced this emerging environmental threat.”

This preprint has not been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: http://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/4fdz8/

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