North Monmouth residents suspect local factory contaminated wells with PFAS
Elevated levels of “forever chemicals” have been detected in the wells of more than two dozen homes in North Monmouth.
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection said well water tests this year found 26 homes in North Monmouth with elevated levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS.
Some families believe the likely source of the contamination is the nearby Tex Tech Industries factory.
“Cooked with the water. We also took showers. We drank it,” said Mike Simoneau, who had elevated levels of PFAS in his well water.
For the last 18 years, Simoneau has lived across the street from the Tex Tech factory in North Monmouth.
He said his well water had one of the highest levels of PFAS contaminants in town.
“I was very surprised, because I just assumed that they’d been testing for this stuff all along. And they hadn’t been,” Simoneau said.
Tex Tech manufactures products like fire protection equipment, in which “forever chemicals” are often used.
As a result, many families say they no longer drink their well water.
“It looks clear, but that’s the issue. You can’t see or smell PFAS. You don’t know if it’s there or not. So, all you can do is don’t drink it,” said Shon Thompson, who had elevated levels of PFAS found in his well water.
PFAS are known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t easily break down in the environment or the human body. Long-term exposure can cause liver, kidney, thyroid and immune system damage.
“The types of issues that I’ve had, PFAS could be a problem for me,” Thompson said.
The DEP said elevated levels of PFAS have only been found in the wells of North Monmouth homes surrounding the factory.
Tex Tech paid for bottled water for those North Monmouth families and new filtration systems to remove PFAS from their water.
“Yeah, yeah. They paid for all of that,” Simoneau said.
The Monmouth Water Association now wants to link North Monmouth to its system and have Tex Tech pay for part of it.
“To be fair, a lot of these chemicals, they didn’t know the downside of them when they were first used. As a town, Monmouth needs Tex Tech. It’s a major employer. We just want to help the people who live in North Monmouth,” Monmouth Water Association President Joel Balano-Stott said.
Tex Tech did not immediately respond to a request for comment.