New Hampshire
After progress on PFAS bills this session, Merrimack reps promise, ‘We’ll be back’ • New Hampshire Bulletin
On Rep. Wendy Thomas’ Merrimack street, there are four private wells contaminated with PFAS, and four homes struck by cancer.
In one house, the dad died of kidney cancer. In another, a father and his adult son both died of colon cancer. In the third, the dad is dying of prostate cancer.
Thomas’ home is the fourth. Her children are sick, and she has had to put down four dogs because of cancer. In 2019, her husband had a quadruple cardiac bypass at age 55. In 2022, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
She had no genetic predisposition. She had no family history. But she did have 12 PFAS chemicals in her blood over the toxic limit set for humans. She attributes those chemicals to her health problems and those of her neighbors.
“We’ve hit some roadblocks,” Thomas, a Democrat, said of the PFAS legislation pushed by her and other lawmakers this session, “but I think we’ve made significant progress.”
Several bills aimed at PFAS – or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – passed the Legislature this session and await approval from the governor. Some of them were more watered down than their sponsors would have liked, but they’ll collectively put some limits on selling products with intentionally added PFAS, notify property-buyers of the chemicals, and create liability for PFAS-producing facilities.
PFAS are in New Hampshire’s air, water, and soil. The problems have been especially acute in southern New Hampshire, particularly in the communities surrounding Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, a French manufacturer that announced in August it would close its Merrimack facility that contaminated hundreds of private wells.
The class of chemicals, of which there are thousands of variations, have been used in industrial and commercial products since the mid-20th century. The “forever chemicals” – dubbed so because they don’t break down naturally in the environment – can be found in food packaging, waterproof cosmetics, dental floss, stain-resistant carpets, smartphones, cars, and much more.
Their presence in the environment has contaminated fish, dairy products, produce, and humans. Nearly all Americans have measurable amounts of PFAS in their blood, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
Research has linked PFAS to a number of health issues, including high cholesterol, weakened immune systems, decreased fertility, increased blood pressure in pregnant women, developmental problems in children, and prostate, kidney, and testicular cancers.
“The goal is to stop the source,” said Rep. Nancy Murphy, a Merrimack Democrat who sponsored several PFAS-related bills. “And that’s our intent, and we’re not gonna stop until we do that.”
Banning some PFAS products
A list of products with intentionally added PFAS will be prohibited from sale in New Hampshire starting in 2027 if the governor signs into law House Bill 1649, passed by the Legislature. That list includes:
- Carpets or rugs;
- Cosmetics;
- Textile treatments, such as those that add PFAS for stain- or water-resistant properties;
- Feminine hygiene products, such as tampons and pads;
- Food packaging and containers, such as plates, bowls, and bags;
- Products for children under 12, such as high chairs, playmats, and strollers;
- Upholstered furniture; and
- Textile furnishings, such as draperies, bedding, and towels.
This bill would not include unintentional PFAS contamination of a product in the production or shipping process, said bill sponsor Rep. Karen Ebel, a New London Democrat.
The bill would also exempt medical devices, adult mattresses, personal computers, wireless phones, and some other electronics. It would also allow products with at least 85 percent recycled content, the resale of products made before the ban, and replacement parts for products manufactured before 2027.
The bill would also – through language adopted from a separate Senate bill — require that funds received by the state through settling PFAS litigation be used to support public water systems contaminated by PFAS.
Ebel came to be interested in PFAS through her work chairing the state’s Solid Waste Working Group, created by statute to support the Department of Environmental Services on related issues.
Because of the abundance of PFAS in a variety of products, those chemicals end up in landfills – and, consequently, in the polluted water called leachate that leaks out of them. Some of that is treated by wastewater facilities, but some of it ends up in the environment and drinking water.
Ebel’s bill sought to stop that contamination before it got to the landfills. And considering the impact PFAS have had on New Hampshire, she said, “what better state to ban some of the products that have wreaked havoc and join other states that are doing this?”
Murphy, a cosponsor, would have liked to see fewer exclusions in the bill and wants to amend it in the future.
“These are incremental changes, and they’re far from perfect,” she said, “but we can’t let the … perfect be the enemy of the good.”
Accountability
Other measures this session sought to hold polluters accountable and get more data to explain the health outcomes people are seeing in their communities.
PFAS facilities that release such chemicals into the groundwater or surface water in total combined concentrations of 100 parts per trillion or greater would be held liable under House Bill 1415 by Murphy, which passed both chambers.
The goal of her bill, Murphy said, is to give our state agencies “some teeth in the law.”
“When polluters make that decision to shut down operations and leave the facility where they’ve done business,” Murphy said, “we must be sure that they are held responsible for removal of all PFAS materials and waste.”
Murphy said she is “cautiously optimistic” the governor will sign her bill.
Another measure passed by the Legislature, House Bill 398, would require that PFAS be included along with radon and arsenic in the notification about common contaminants in New Hampshire provided to a property-buyer.
The notice, if approved by the governor, would say that PFAS “have been detected at levels that exceed federal and/or state advisories or standards in wells throughout New Hampshire,” especially in the southern part of the state.
“Testing of the water by an accredited laboratory can measure PFAS levels and inform a buyer’s decision regarding the need to install water treatment systems,” the notice would read.
Thomas, the bill sponsor, wanted testing included in the bill but said the House watered it down from its original version.
She said she has heard stories of people who bought houses in town without ever being informed of the water contamination.
“To me, that’s just criminal,” Thomas said, “because, again, you’re not allowing them to protect themselves.”
Another proposal, House Bill 1114, sponsored by Murphy, will extend by five years the life of a commission to study PFAS released into the air, soil, and groundwater in Merrimack, Bedford, Londonderry, Hudson, and Litchfield.
Murphy sponsored the bill that first established the commission in 2019, shortly after she arrived at the State House. PFAS contamination is the issue that propelled her to public service.
“I had never been a legislator and actually, quite frankly, had never been interested in anything political” until then, Murphy said. But as a now-retired nurse and mother of six children who were feeling health impacts associated with PFAS, she quickly became interested.
The commission studies the health impacts of PFAS releases, and the re-upped version of the bill includes Hudson at the request of a lawmaker from there. Its membership represents state agencies, lawmakers, scientists, local government officials, and citizens from affected areas.
“This commission has been instrumental in seeking the collection of health data relative to the health concerns that we see in these communities and then spearheading the legislation to address that,” Murphy said.
‘We’ll be back’
Mindi Messmer, a scientist who discovered a pediatric cancer cluster along the Seacoast in 2014 and represented Rye in the House as a Democrat from 2016 to 2018, said she was the first person to file PFAS-related legislation in New Hampshire.
As a scientist, she thought she could explain the issues in a logical way and get people on board.
“That didn’t happen a lot of times,” she said, “and I also faced a ton of pushback from the regulators at the time.”
Murphy said they’re “light-years” ahead of where they were when Messmer first raised PFAS as an issue in the State House. The lawmakers focused on PFAS – some of whom call themselves “water warriors” – didn’t get everything they wanted this session, but they have made progress they said would have been hard to imagine a few years ago.
Murphy and Thomas are both rearing to bring forth more legislation next session – some of which will be aimed at strengthening bills passed this year, such as the product ban. Other initiatives may focus on health insurance coverage for PFAS-related health issues.
“We’ll be back,” Murphy said. “Anything that we didn’t pass, we’ll be back.”
For these lawmakers, this fight is as personal as it gets.
Thomas had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed preventively after her breast cancer diagnosis. “Sometimes I want to just forget that I have cancer,” she said, but she shares her story often to put a face to the consequences of PFAS contamination. She points at her chest when she talks about the issue in the State House.
“To live in a PFAS-contaminated town,” Thomas said, “we have to amputate parts of our bodies to lay at the altar of profit.”
Nearly a dozen New Hampshire communities are hosting vigils this week to remember friends and family who passed away because of homelessness this year. Keene hosted a vigil on Monday, Concord had one Thursday, and more are scheduled Saturday, including in Dover and Portsmouth.
“It’s the first night of winter, the longest night of the year, the darkest day of the year,” said Maggie Fogarty from the American Friends Service Committee. “It’s a good time for a solemn reflection on the loss of our siblings to homelessness, also coming as it does during a season of celebration and of light.”
Fogarty helps compile the list of people who will be remembered at these vigils. She explained that it includes people who passed away while being unhoused, as well as people who died prematurely because of the toll from being unhoused, even after finding housing.
About 60 people will be remembered this year, either just with their name, or a memory from someone who knew them. While some names are submitted by friends and family, most are from people who provide supportive services to unhoused people.
She added that these vigils are also a chance for community members to reflect and commit to advocacy, especially because 2025 is a budget-writing year for state government.
“That commitment to system change and to ensuring that public policy, not just charity, combine to protect everyone from poverty,” she said. “That’s as important an aspect of this remembrance as the coming together as a community to remember our siblings.”
According to a new report, New Hampshire saw the highest percentage rise in homelessness in the country between 2022 and 2023. The number of people facing homelessness in the Granite State went up by roughly 52%, while other states’ saw an average increase of 12% during the same time period, according to the report.
The report is put out annually by the New Hampshire Coalition to End Homelessness using information from a “point in time” count, which is an effort to count the number of homeless individuals in the state on a single day each year.
That data in the latest report suggests that New Hampshire saw a decline in veterans experiencing homelessness between 2022 and 2023. But the problem worsened for people dealing with chronic homelessness, single adults, families and sheltered individuals.
Homeless Persons Memorial Day vigils in Seacoast
Colebrook – Saturday, December 21 at 6 PM at 147 Main Street, in front of the Congregational Church. Contact: TRI County Community Action Program, ebecker@tccap.org
Concord – Thursday, December 19 at 4 pm at the State House, Concord. Contact: Angela Spinney, aspin@concordhomeless.org. Facebook event.
Conway – Saturday, December 21 at 6 PM at The Way Station, 15 Grove Street, Conway. Contact: TRI County Community Action Program, ebecker@tccap.org
Dover – Saturday, December 21 at First Parish Church, 218 Central Ave, Dover at 5 PM to 6 PM. Contact: Joyce Tugel, jtugel@gmail.com. Here’s the flyer.
Keene – Monday, December 16 at 5:30 PM at Saint James Episcopal Church, 44 West Street, Keene. Hosted by Hundred Nights, info@hundrednightsinc.org. More information here.
Laconia – Friday, December 20 at 5:30 PM at Isaiah 61 Cafe, 100 New Salem St, Laconia. Contact: Dawn Longval, dlongval@metrocast.net
Lancaster – Saturday, December 21 at 6 PM at the Centennial Park Green Gazebo on Main Street in Lancaster. Contact: TRI County Community Action Program, ebecker@tccap.org
Littleton – Saturday, December 21 at 6 PM at the Littleton Winter Shelter, 18 Pleasant Street Littleton. Contact: TRI County Community Action Program, ebecker@tccap.org
Manchester – Friday, December 20 at 6 PM at Veterans Park, Manchester. Contact: Crystal Butts-Ducharme, crystal.butts-ducharme@cmc-nh.org
Manchester – Saturday, December 21 at 12 noon at 1269 Café 456 Union St Manchester. Contact: Craig Chevalier craig@thetwelveonunion.org
Nashua – Saturday, December 21, 5 PM to 6 PM, at City Hall, at 229 Main Street Nashua. Contact: Tom Lopez, LopezT@NashuaNH.gov. Facebook event.
Newport – Saturday, December 21 at 6 PM at the Newport town common by the gazebo. Contact: Rev. Elisabeth Smith, Church of the Good Shepherd (United Methodist), pastorelisabeth415@gmail.com
Peterborough – Saturday, December 21 at 4 PM on the steps of the Peterborough Town House, 1 Grove Street, Peterborough, NH. Hosted by the Monadnock Area Transitional Shelter (MATS). Contact: Susan Howard, mats.peterborough@gmail.com
Portsmouth – Saturday, December 21, 5 PM to 6 PM at South Church, 292 State Street, Portsmouth, hosted by CrossRoads House. Facebook event.
Upper Valley – Friday, December 20 at 5:30 PM at LISTEN Community Services, 42 Maple Street, White River Jct, VT. Contact: Lynne Goodwin, lynne.goodwin@lebanonnh.gov
NHPR’s Olivia Richardson contributed to this report.
These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.
New Hampshire
Papaspyropoulos’ two goals net New Jersey Titans victory over New Hampshire Mountain Kings – The Rink Live
The New Jersey Titans beat the visiting New Hampshire Mountain Kings at Middletown Ice World Arena on Friday, Dec. 19, 2024, ending 4-3.
New Jersey’s Logan Renkowski scored the game-winning goal.
The visiting Mountain Kings opened strong, early in the game with Kim Hilmersson scoring 50 seconds, goal assisted by
Damon Bossie
and
Oli Genest
.
The Titans tied the game 1-1 in the first period when
James Schneid
scored, assisted by
Jack Hillier
and Lucas Marshall.
The Mountain Kings’
Cole Roenick
took the lead late in the first period, assisted by Tanner Anctil and Charlie Vincent.
The Titans tied it up 2-2 with a goal from
Alex Papaspyropoulos
late in the first, assisted by
Kyle Kim
and Jack Hillier.
The Titans scored two goals in second period an held the lead 4-3 going in to the second break.
Next games:
The teams play again on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024 at 6 p.m. CST at Middletown Ice World Arena.
Read more NAHL coverage
Automated articles produced by United Robots on behalf of The Rink Live.
Eleven days before Christmas, an outdoor firepit crackles next to the gift shop at South Farm in Bethlehem. A speaker plays carols as cars roll into the small parking lot.
Nigel Manley, bundled up in wool pants and a red and green hat with a festive pom pom, runs the show. He’s a big deal in the Christmas tree world: he’s on the board of the national Christmas tree association, and a leader in several industry groups in New England.
He fell into the job while working at The Rocks. He was working for a cattle farmer, helping with a variety of jobs. But then, the farm started growing Christmas trees.
“Basically I could either do a Christmas tree farm or not have a job. So Christmas tree farming seemed to be like a good idea.”
He loved it enough to start his own farm in 2014. Nowadays, he says he sings “Jingle Bells” all year round.
Manley plants about 900 trees a year. And he likes to experiment with new species, branching out from the Frasers and Balsams that have dominated the Christmas market for years.
Several years ago, he happened upon the Korean fir. They have a silvery-blue sheen, because their needles twist as they grow, showing their undersides. And they smell citrusy, like oranges.
Manley says they’re also tough to prune; they don’t always grow straight up. So in 2021, he started planting a hybrid version pollinated with Balsam pollen.
“They’ve got the beautiful color. They’re growing well,” he said. “They’re easier to prune by far.”
Now, those hybrids are a third of the trees he’s planting each season. They grow fast. People like how they look and smell. And they’ve also had an unexpected benefit. They’re more resilient to the kinds of changes he’s seeing on his land, as warmer temperatures and wet summers cause trouble.
“We’re losing more Fraser firs because of the wetness, phytophthora root rot in particular,” he said.
While Manley didn’t set out to find a Christmas tree that could thrive better in changing conditions, the hybrid firs just might fit the bill.
“It seems like in wetter conditions they’ll put up with more water. And just based on how they’re growing and knowing it has got warmer, I say they do really well in it,” he said.
Korean fir trees have had a difficult time in South Korea recently, where they make up a forest on Hallasan Mountain on Jeju Island. There, National Geographic reports they’re threatened by heat, erosion and increasing extreme storms.
In New Hampshire, though, the business for hybrid Korean/Balsam fir trees is thriving.
Jay Weir, who owns Weir Tree Farms in Colebrook, says he’s ramped up production of seedlings, which he sells to growers across the country, including Manley.
“A lot of people really like the way these trees are performing,” he said. “They’ll grow in just about any type of soil, very resistant to root rots and pests.”
They don’t seem to be as affected by drought or wet weather as other firs, he said. And though there are a limited number of people selling seeds, he thinks they’ll become a bigger part of the industry moving forward.
Most of Manley’s trees are sold wholesale, and this year that included the hybrids. The rest stay at the farm for people to cut down themselves.
Gene and Liliana Farr picked out one of the first Korean fir trees Manley planted. They liked the citrus smell and the silvery color. It was their first time cutting their own tree, and they said they were excited to decorate it with birds and other animal ornaments.
The tree is beautiful. So beautiful, Manley actually chose the same one to put it in his own house. But he didn’t cut it down fast enough; the Farrs beat him to it.
“It was just the way that it was formed, I liked it. Because of the challenge with trying to prune these, to me it’s like it takes something into the house that’s taken a lot of effort,” he said.
An effort now for his customers to appreciate as they unwrap presents, under brightly shining Christmas lights and lovely branches.
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