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Updated: 8 hours ago

Outstanding Women in Business: Katie Richards tackles ‘forever’ chemicals with Maine’s first testing lab

Photo / Tim Greenway Katie Richards identified a critical gap in Maine’s ability to respond to PFAS contamination and co-founded PFAS Laboratories with her husband Chris.
By Laurie Schreiber
See all the 2025 Mainebiz Outstanding Women in Business profiles
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Katie Richards identified a critical gap in Maine’s ability to respond to PFAS contamination. With no in-state testing options available, she co-founded Maine PFAS Laboratories with her husband Chris. Maine’s first PFAS-accredited lab gives homeowners, farmers and municipalities faster access to environmental data.

Operational in 2023, the company leverages their combined expertise — Katie in business and project management at Bank of America, Wells Fargo and elsewhere; Chris in analytical chemistry. In two years, she led the company through rigorous national, international and U.S. Department of Defense accreditation, implemented in-house testing methods, tripled lab capacity, leveraged startup and accelerator resources and built a team in rural Norridgewock. The company was recently selected to support research in Greenland.

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals have been used in industries worldwide. Studies show certain levels of exposure may be linked to negative health outcomes. The “forever chemicals” resist breaking down.

Mainebiz: What’s your reach?

Katie Richards: National testing, mostly from companies that are treating PFAS contamination and researchers answering tough PFAS questions — from California to North Carolina, Texas and Massachusetts. We recently tripled capacity to conduct up to 10,000 PFAS tests annually, so business development is a big focus for us now.

MB: Why is in-state testing important?

KR: Last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency put out guidelines for a national maximum contaminant limit for PFAS and required public water systems to test and then publish those results. Based on initial testing, there are some estimates that close to 200 million people in the U.S. could be drinking water with PFAS above those maximum contaminant levels. And this does not count people that get their drinking water from wells, which we know in Maine is about half the population.

In addition to focusing on accreditation, we have been working to validate an in-lab method specifically meant for well users. It takes less volume to test, and has a quicker turnaround time, so we were able to cut the price in half. We’ve launched the test on Amazon hoping to help fill the gap for people that hear about PFAS locally and want to know the data for their own drinking water.

MB: What does hiring look like, especially given your rural location?

KR: We hired last year in anticipation of more testing volume. We predicted more volume because we knew we would be adding essential accreditations this year. We have four full-time lab technicians and one lab technical director. Our onboarding plan is robust. I’m happy to hire recent graduates in fields like chemistry, biology and environmental science and upskill them through on-the-job training.

I think a couple things make us attractive for potential employees. Most people graduating in some type of environmental science, biology or chemistry have likely heard about PFAS in their studies. Working here gives them a chance to make a real difference in a real problem. Our location is an asset for people who want to live in central Maine.

MB: What’s your marketing strategy?

KR: Going to conferences and talking to people face-to-face has been really successful. For big companies to do business with us, they need to trust that we can get the job done. Our conference plan for 2025 has us in North Carolina, Massachusetts, Ohio and several in Maine.

MB: What’s the Greenland research?

KR: They’re testing for PFAS in some of the most remote locations to identify the spread beyond spaces we live in.

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

KR: A couple of our research partners had their grants frozen, but they’ve been reinstated. Overall, we haven’t seen a negative impact so far.

MB: What’s your leadership approach?

KR: I’ll model out different scenarios. Best outcomes — what does that allow me to do differently in growing the business? Medium and not-great outcomes — what levers will I pull to support us if we’re in that position? That helps me consider risks and options before I make a decision.

Maine PFAS Laboratories

P.O. Box 843, Norridgewock

Founded: 2022

What it does: Maine’s first PFAS testing facility has a mission is to empower individuals, families and organizations with accurate, timely and accessible PFAS testing data.

Employees: 8

www.mainelaboratories.com

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