This is rare. Sewage sludge is getting the light of day in a major paper. Check out "Biosolids Tracking Efforts a Jumble of Research With No Clear Answers." For example:
In Decatur, Ala., chemical companies released perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) -- the stuff that makes up nonstick cookware and has been linked to thyroid defects in pregnant women and to cancer in wastewater treatment plant workers -- into the sewage system over a period of decades.
The local wastewater treatment plant, Decatur Utilities, collected sludge, which was then sprayed onto grazing lands over a period of 12 years. Tests in 2009 showed that the fields -- a grazing ground for cattle -- contained PFOA and PFOS. Both chemicals are highly persistent in the environment and accumulate in the body.
But then read the next paragraph:
Tests showed that other types of perfluorinated compounds were also present, but EPA does not have maximum safety limits for these, said Roberts. "We wouldn't participate if there wasn't some cause for concern," she said of continuing tests of water and people's blood in the region.
OK, wait - what? Toxic persistent chemicals were released into the environment, onto farm fields, and then said there was no cause for concern? And the justification is that the EPA doesn't have any maximum limit for how much of that toxic, persistent chemical you can have in sludge applied to land? Think about that. I'm sorry but just because the law was followed doesn't mean there's no risk to the environment and human health.
You've really got to read all four pages of the article to get the full story. If you just stop on page 2, you might get the impression that scientists think sludge is fine. Then again, if you can think for yourself, you might think that it's all really fucked up for any scientist to be okay with spreading sludge on land. The story tries to be "balanced" and unbiased. But it ends up with paragraphs like this one:
Nearly all scientists agree that sewage sludge can be beneficial if it is uncontaminated, as it is a rich source of phosphorus and nitrogen. It has two components -- bacteria naturally present in organic matter, which can be somewhat removed depending on how the sludge is processed; and heavy metals and chemicals such as any of the 11 flame retardants, 72 pharmaceuticals, 28 metals, 25 steroids and hormones, and others that EPA tested for in its 2009 national sludge survey. It can also contain chemicals that no one is looking for, any one of the 80,000 that are made in the United States.
Okay, so what they are saying is that it would be fine if it was uncontaminated, except it's TOTALLY contaminated with god knows what.
And check this out:
About 55 percent of sludge is applied in the United States on primarily grazing land. It is a multimillion-dollar industry in which utilities pay applier companies like Synagro to take the stuff and spray it on farmland as a potent fertilizer. They save money by avoiding costs of land filling or incineration. The farmer pays little or nothing.
There ya go. That's why they are doing it. Money. Not because it's safe. It's money. The article also tells about how little research there is on safety and any health harm caused by land application of sewage sludge, and the close ties between the sewage industry and government regulators. And surprise, surprise, there's "heavy lobbying" involved. |
