This article was previously published on February 23, 2019 and has been updated with new information.
The use of sewage sludge as fertilizer for your food, renamed “biosolids” by industry PR firms, is a growing and yet to be publicized threat to human health. human health. Sewage sludge is residue created during domestic waste treatment and contains a mixture of hazardous substances from industry, hospitals, and people – anything that is released into a wastewater system.
Some of the city’s sewer lines run directly to the factories, allowing them to dump waste into the city’s wastewater treatment plants. This saves industries a lot of money because once a chemical or managed waste enters the sewer, they are suddenly exempt from EPA regulations.
While many people, myself included, have highlighted the serious dangers posed by the widespread use of sewage sludge for decades, new awareness has been generated by a report from the Inspector General’s office. United States (OIG) titled, “EPA Failed to Assess Impact of Hundreds of Uncontrolled Landborne Biosolids Pollutants on Human Health and the Environment.”
Beware of Biosolid scam
A video (posted above), “Biosludged,” from Health Ranger/Natural News, raises further concerns about the recognized solid biological threat of heavy metals, drugs, hormones and antibiotic resistance, Specifically, bioterrorism. Anyone can introduce deadly substances into a wastewater system, such as the Ebola virus, which, thanks to the widespread application of biosolids, will be disseminated to harm large numbers of people. .
What people put down their toilet shows up ‘right on their plate weeks later’, video warns of discovery of blood thinner Warfarin, toxic herbicide and internal disruptor secrete atrazine, pesticides, fungicides, pharmaceuticals, recreational drugs, industrial drugs, chemical solvents, plasticizers and disinfectants in biological solids.
Mike Adams, who is known as the Health Ranger, says, “If you don’t put it in your garden, don’t flush it down the toilet,” says Mike Adams, known as the Health Ranger, adding that solids biological crime is the biggest environmental crime in America that most people have never heard of. Adams said: “Despite the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act, the Clean Land Act is essential.
Adams and his website are admittedly controversial, but it is undeniable that the application of large amounts of biosolids containing nitrogen and phosphorus, in combination with other nitrogen-rich fertilizers, has contribute to algae growth along the coasts of the United States.
This environmental devastation harms human and animal life as well as water quality. Unfortunately, many southern states experience greater use of biosolids because they accept manure exported from other cities.
Serious questions about biosolids EPA regulation
In November 2018, the US Inspector General’s office released a scathing indictment of how the EPA regulates – or more precisely, does not regulate – the biosolids industry. The OIG calculated that:first
“Control measures for land-based sludge (biosolids) use, including laws, regulations, guidelines, policies or practices, are inadequate or have weaknesses and may be does not adequately protect human health and the environment.
EPA continuously monitors biological solids for the nine regulated pollutants. However, the agency lacks the data or risk assessment tools needed to make decisions about the safe levels of 352 pollutants found in biosolids. The EPA identified these pollutants in various studies between 1989 and 2015.
Our analysis determined that 352 pollutants included 61 that were designated as hazardous, hazardous or priority pollutants in other programs. The Clean Water Act requires the EPA to review biosolids regulations at least every two years to identify additional pollutants and issue regulations for those pollutants. “
What harmful contaminants did the Inspector General find in biological solids?
“Identified uncontrolled pollutants include pharmaceuticals (e.g., ciprofloxacin, diphenhydramine, and triclocarban); steroids and hormones (e.g., campesterol, cholestanol, and coprostanol); and flame retardants.
The agency also identifies perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) in biological solids research…32 as hazardous waste under RCRA (four of which are acutely hazardous). 35 is an EPA priority pollutant. 16 is NIOSH [National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health] toxic drugs. “
Scientific studies confirm the danger
Faced with IOG’s 60-page paper detailing the dangers of biosolids, EPA had few safeguards beyond, “Hazards alone do not indicate risk” and “No not all 352 pollutants found in biological solids lack data for risk assessment. Those pollutants with sufficient data will be assessed for risk levels” in the future. Yes who cares?
The scientific literature clearly confirms the dangers of biosolids from their existence in the soil to their ability to enter the very plants you eat. Triclocarban, an antibiotic similar to triclosan (found in toothpaste and other consumer products) “remains years after biosolid application”, study in the Journal of Environmental and Environmental Sciences infection said.2
The antibiotics amoxicillin, ampicillin, erythromycin, oxytetracycline, sulfadimethoxine and others were detected “in sewage sludge after nearly a decade of freezing,” the study, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, said.3
Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), man-made chemicals that the EPA acknowledges have “adverse effects on human health”4 and flame retardants (HFRs and PBDEs) have been detected in spinach, tomatoes and corn from soil treated with biosolids, according to research in Science Direct.5 The drug is believed to penetrate radish tissues according to Water Research,6 and lettuce readily absorb estrogen, according to a study published in the Journal of Environmental Science and Pollution Research.7
Antibiotic resistance is also a risk from biosolids
No one reading my newsletter is surprised that the use of sewage sludge to grow food increases the already pressing problem of antibiotic resistance. The overprescribing of antibiotics to humans and animals has created superbugs that kill thousands of animals each year. The combination of human waste – containing both antibiotics, pathogens and antibiotic-resistant pathogens – with hospital and industrial waste only exacerbates the deadly problem.
The accumulation of the metabolite of the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole “in the solid phase is less bioavailable and more difficult to be desorbed in the presence of microbial activity … and may lead to the growth of of bacteria and drug resistance genes after being released into the environment” warn Environmental Science and Pollution Research researchers.8
“Ampicillin-resistant bacteria increase in [biosolid] soil was modified four months after the modification and remained at least a log 10 higher for the following 24 months,” the study in Science of the Total Environment said. 9
Research in the journal Environmental Monitoring and Evaluation says the widespread use of antibiotics in medical, veterinary and agricultural practices “has caused great environmental concern due to its toxic effects.” related to these compounds”.ten
Some of the effects of antibiotics include the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, making it difficult to treat diseases, variation in natural microbial communities, and enzyme activity especially in aerobic and anaerobic cells is low and intermediate due to the small decay rate.”
Strong economic forces are behind biosolids
How does the deceptive term “biosolid” replace the more accurate term toxic sewage sludge? PR Watch says it was coined by the Water Environment Federation.11
“The Water Environment Federation (WEF), the sludge industry trade group, invented the ‘biosolids’ of the Orwellian PR acoustic transfer method for toxic sludge in 1991, now ‘renaming’ wastewater treatment plants into ‘water resource recovery facilities’.”
The PR wheel creates a convenient shade for the toxic sludge to be removed from the water, then heated and poured onto crop and grazing land as ‘fertilizer’ or erroneously called ‘compost’ .’ The toxins in the sludge can then bioaccumulate in the meat and milk we eat and be absorbed by the food factories that feed us. “
Sludge is big business and waste giant Synagro leads the way. According to its website:twelfth
“[Synagro] provided[s] solutions for all aspects of biosolids and residue management needs, from soil licensing and soil analysis by our nationwide technical service team to facility development by our team our in-house engineer. Synagro offers a comprehensive range of customer-focused solutions. “
According to In These Times, selling sludge as “fertilizer” is the least expensive way for cities to remove biological solids and make room for more sludge.13 Companies that contract with cities to remove and transport sludge are also fans of the lucrative status quo, as are farmers who appreciate cheap “fertilizer”. But some communities are resisting.
We Don’t Want Your Poop Let’s Say Community Activists
At a hearing held in November 2018 by the Pennsylvania State Board of Farm Organizations, Darree Sicher, founder of the United Mud Free Coalition, said one of her main concerns was substance. Biological solids are contaminated with pharmaceuticals and flame retardants, which can lead to birth defects. in livestock.14 Others at the hearing said much of Europe burned trash rather than scatter it.
In January 2019, Florida Representative Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach, introduced a bill that would allow landowners to continue spraying imported biosolids if the landowner “can reliably demonstrate that nutrients in biosolids would not increase nutrient availability in the basin,” was welcomed by citizen resistance.15
Residents in Washington state also spoke out similarly.16 “There’s a saying that biosolids go downhill – I live downhill,” said James Brigham, who lives near the proposed biosolids site. The transport of biological solids will include 50 trucks, it was revealed at the meeting.
In April 2022, Maine became the first state to ban the use of sludge in agriculture to prevent further contamination from PFAS.17 In Michigan, officials have set standards for the adoption of biosolids such as sludge by 2021, and in 2022 they begin closing dairy and beef farms when PFAS is found. in water, ground and animal feed.18
Gardeners Beware
“Biosludged” points out that toxic sewage sludge is not just an agricultural hazard. Biosolids are also sold as lawn and garden fertilizers to homeowners despite their hazardous ingredients.
Both Dillo Dirt and Milorganite present themselves as eco-friendly and eco-friendly soil treatments, but both carry warnings about serious risks to human health. Mike Adams said: Dillo Dirt contains toxic sludge from Austin, and Milorganite is created from toxic sludge from Milwaukee. Both should be avoided at all costs.
Unfortunately, companies do not have to disclose when biosolids are used in their compost or potting soil. Compost products can even have the USDA organic label on them, and still be full of toxic biosolids. Milorganite is just one example.
If you grow vegetables in your garden and want to avoid the toxins found in biosolids, it’s best to purchase organic potting soil and/or compost from a local nursery you know and trust to make sure no What biological solids are added?
