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April 28, 2025

Maine’s first PFAS testing facility triples annual capacity

A person stands with some laboratory machinery. Photo / Courtesy Maine Laboratories Maine Laboratories CEO Katie Richards is seen with solid phase extraction robots that can process multiple samples at one time, saving hours of manual work for faster turnaround times.
By Laurie Schreiber

Maine Laboratories, a PFAS testing facility in Norridgewock, recently expanded its capacity to conduct up to 10,000 PFAS tests annually, more than triple its current workflow.

Unable to find local options for testing their well water for contamination for so-called forever chemicals, Katie and Chris Richards founded the lab in 2022, leveraging their combined expertise — Katie in business and project management and Chris in analytical chemistry. 

After living in Kentucky, it also gave them a chance to return to Maine, where both grew up. 

As Maine’s first PFAS testing facility, the lab earned national and state accreditations and developed in-house methods to address complex testing needs for industries, municipalities and homeowners. It has five full-time employees.

Mainebiz asked Katie Richards about the company’s roll-out. Here’s an edited transcript.

Mainebiz: Where was PFAS testing typically conducted, if not in Maine?

Katie Richards: Maine has been sending samples out of state, to places like Massachusetts and California. That’s part of why we opened the business. We found out there were no labs in Maine doing PFAS testing. I looked into what it would take to build a lab.

The market research showed that there’s a huge backlog in PFAS testing. That’s one reason I was motivated. You could submit a sample and not get data back for five or six weeks. That’s a long time to wait. We said we would set up our processes so we can turn around in 10 business days. That gave us early success in bringing on clients. 

A building has yellow siding and a sign.
Photo / Courtesy Maine Laboratories
The lab recently expanded capacity to conduct up to 10,000 PFAS tests annually, more than triple its current workflow.

There is a misconception in Maine that there is still a backlog in PFAS testing and that may be true for our peers, but we have capacity and are turning results around right now in six to seven business days. 

MB: Why Norridgewock?

KR: We liked central Maine. My husband graduated form Skowhegan Area High School. I grew up in Belfast. The goal was to be central. 

MB: What does your facility consist of?

KR: It’s an old farmhouse with a big barn attached. It was a commercial property on Main Street. We needed to do quite a bit of renovation to establish it as a lab — taking down wallpaper, repairing walls, painting, putting in commercial flooring and new electric, lighting and plumbing systems throughout. 

MB: What do you test?

KR: Everything PFAS. We offer standard homeowner soil and water tests. We test agricultural samples — plant tissues, animal tissues, fish tissues. Wastewater, landfill leachate, sludges. And we do a variety of product testing for plastics, textiles, cleaning and personal care products. We have separate workflows to manage samples that we can predict will have low to no PFAS contamination and those samples that historically present high concentrations of PFAS in them. 

MB: How did you finance the startup? 

KR: It’s been very much Chris and me bootstrapping. We have family and friend investors and loans from Bangor Savings Bank for the building and equipment. Our total investment is in the $2 million range. 

MB: Have you tapped into the entrepreneurship ecosystem?

KR: Yes. I’m a member of Dirigo Lab’s current accelerator program and participated last fall in the SBA’s CEO mentorship program. [Maine Technology Institute] and Central Maine Growth Council supported us through early grant-writing. I have a SCORE mentor, have met with CEI and leveraged the APEX Accelerators program to make sure I’m ready to apply for government contracts. I am very appreciative of all the support I have received from the Maine small business ecosystem. 

MB: Have you been affected by changes in the federal funding or policy landscape?

KR: Nothing directly. I’m watching to see what the effect of tariffs might be on our testing supplies and consumables. The clients who might be impacted, that could have downstream effects on our business, are our research partners. I don’t know of any grants that have been affected at this time, but things change everyday. 

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