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While researching the San Francisco sewage sludge story, I found a few sources that were so useful I'd like to share them.
First, the EPA's own analysis of the contents of sewage sludge. It's a recent analysis of 84 sludge samples from around the U.S. They tested for 28 metals, 72 drugs, 25 steroids and hormones, 4 anions, six semivolatile organics and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and a number of flame retardants. The GOOD news is that very few samples contained any of the hormones or 29 of the pharmaceuticals. The BAD news? Pretty much everything else they found was bad news. Remember when you look at this that - out of the items tested for - the EPA only regulates 9 metals. They also regulate fecal coliforms. Oh, and then there's the number of chemicals (thousands of them) that might show up in the sludge and weren't included in this study.
Then there's this: Synagro Allgro "All purpose organic compost & natural fertilizer"
Synagro, which is owned by the very creepy and secretive Carlyle Group, handles San Francisco's sludge. Like the bogus compost given out by San Francisco's Public Utilities Commission, Allgro is a mix of sewage sludge and wood trimmings. Notice how Synagro calls it "organic" even though sewage sludge is specifically prohibited by the USDA's organic standards. I find it funny that they boast that it is "a blend is composted thoroughly to produce a high quality humus material free of pathogens and weed seeds." Weed seeds? Oh no. I don't think weed seeds are among the chemical soup that gets washed down the drain at oil refineries, hospitals, foundries, and other industrial sites, and blended into this stuff.
Last, for a full background on the sludge issue, I highly recommend reading this chapter (PDF) in the book Toxic Sludge is Good For You by John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton. But I REALLY recommend reading the entire book (only this one chapter is about sludge, the book is an expose of the PR industry).
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