FAIRFIELD, Maine — It's been called a "slow-motion" disaster. Contamination from toxic chemicals known as PFAS seeped into the water supply of hundreds of farms and properties across Maine.

The source was wastewater sludge trucked to farms and spread as fertilizer for decades.

Now, two doctors are taking a deeper look at Mainers dealing with the emotional toll caused by the ongoing crisis to provide better health monitoring and mental health support in the future.

Ashley and Troy Reny love making dinner together, but the worry is never far from their minds.

"You try to block it out some days, other days it's all you think about," Troy admitted.

In November 2020, just months after purchasing their "dream home," the couple discovered their drinking water was poison—testing more than 1,200 times Maine's current drinking water standards for PFAS chemicals. The source was wastewater sludge used as fertilizer on a nearby dairy farm that seeped into the groundwater. Escaping the stress of toxic exposure is next to impossible.

"You don't know if your health is going to start deteriorating or if your house is still worth what you thought it was, lots of anxiety," Ashley said.

Dr. Rachel Criswell is a family practitioner at Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan, monitoring patients with elevated levels of the compounds in their blood.

"Seeing folks in my clinic, for some people it has destroyed their lives ... understandably," Dr. Criswell said.

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