Maine Warns Hunters to Throw Out Deer and Turkey Meat After Tests Reveal High Levels of Forever Chemicals in Some Areas

Wildlife officials in Maine have warned hunters that whitetail deer and wild turkeys in some portions of the state are unsafe to eat due to high levels of toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS.

The state’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and Center for Disease Control and Prevention issued a “Do Not Eat” advisory Thursday for two new locations in Central Maine. The two advisory areas include approximately 5.5 square miles in Unity and Unity Township and 4.3 square miles in Unity, Freedom, and Albion. This new advisory is in addition to a larger region that spans approximately 25 square miles in Somerset County, which has been under a Do Not Eat advisory since November 2021.  

The initial warnings were issued after MDIFW began testing PFAS levels in wildlife harvested in the Fairfield area just north of Portland, a sector with some of the state’s highest-known PFAS soil concentrations. When high levels of PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonic acid), one compound in the PFAS family of chemicals, were detected in five of eight deer tested in October 2021, MDIFW and MCDC issued the advisory for 125 square miles in the area “out of an abundance of caution for public health.”

In 2023, the “Do Not Eat” boundaries were reduced to 25 miles. The reduction came after results from testing 60 deer and 51 wild turkeys showed that only those taken from the most highly contaminated  fields had detectable levels of PFAS/PFOS in muscle tissue.

At this time, only deer and turkeys in the limited advisory areas have had muscle tissue PFAS levels evaluated. However, targeted sampling from additional sectors is currently underway. If high levels are detected, additional hunting grounds could be added to the advisory. 

What Are Forever Chemicals?

Perfluoroalkyl and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of synthetic chemicals widely used to repel water, oil, and stains. First made popular by Dupont in the form of non-stick Teflon-coating cookware, today, nearly 15,000 different chemicals fall under the PFAS umbrella. They are commonly found in products like firefighting foam, food packaging, rain jackets, and shampoo. 

PFAS earned the nickname “forever chemicals” because they contain strong chemical bonds that are highly resistant to breaking down, meaning they can persist for decades, building up in the environment and the human body. Over time, PFAS have made their way into our soil, air, and water systems. When humans eat the meat of contaminated animals, they risk ingesting PFAS, which can build up in tissues over time. Research links PFAS exposure to a range of health issues, including liver damage, thyroid diseases, and certain cancers. 

In April, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set the enforceable levels of PFOS at four parts per trillion. The EPA concluded, however, that there are no safe levels of the chemical compound in drinking water. Although PFOS use in manufacturing has been phased out nationwide, “fields with a history of biosolids application still have high levels of PFOS in the soil and some surface waters many years after the last application,” according to MDIFW. 

In addition to animals harvested this hunting season, MDIFW advises hunters to throw away any meat in their freezers from the advisory areas due to the possibility of high levels of PFAS contamination from previous years.

Read N​ext: PFAS Explained: These Forever Chemicals Are Being Banned from a Variety of Outdoor Products. Now Gear Makers Are Scrambling

Maine is not the only state to warn hunters about the dangers of PFAS-tainted meat. Michigan, the first state to test for forever chemicals in whitetail deer, issued a “Do Not Eat” advisory in 2018 for deer harvested in the Clark’s Marsh area of Oscoda Township. The state also recommends against eating organ meat from deer, fish, and other wild game taken anywhere in the state.
In 2020, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources issued a “Do Not Eat” advisory for deer liver harvested within 5 miles of a facility that manufactures firefighting foam. New Hampshire also recommends hunters refrain from eating deer liver due to elevated PFAS levels in samples tested across the state.