Lawn of the Dead
Photo by Suzanne Mejean/Getty Images
In a word: YECCCHH.
If you’re one of thousands of homeowners who apply sewage sludge to your lawns and gardens, you may also be adding drugs, flame retardants, and other chemicals to your well-manicured landscape. A recent study found dozens of medicinal, industrial, and household compounds—also known as biosolids—in the treated sewage sludge that government agencies try to palm off to the unsuspecting as “lawn-and-garden enhancements.”
From AP: “Drugs, chemicals in sewage sludge.”
“No matter what biosolid we looked at, there were some of these compounds in it,” said [Chad] Kinney, [an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Eastern Washington University] whose research on the subject was published in online editions of the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Although government regulators and health officials said there is no immediate risk to public health, the study’s authors called for more research on the long-term impact on the environment. “We’ve been using biosolids for over 30 years safety,” said Peggy Leonard, biosolids program manager for King County’s waste treatment division, which produces GroCo. “As far as I know, there is no risk.”
Thomas Burke, a professor of public health policy at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, said Kinney’s research and other studies should be a wake up call for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “I don’t think people understood before this that they might be applying pharmaceuticals and disinfectants to their front lawns,” Burke said. …
Soil scientists at Cornell University’s Waste Management Institute have been asking for more regulatory scrutiny of biosolids. “I certainly would not use this material on my garden” said Ellen Harrison, director of the Waste Management Institute.
Burke of Johns Hopkins called the EPA regulations out of date, adding that some of the chemicals identified in the study have been shown to disrupt fish reproduction. “These are things that have biological implications and we have to understand them better,” Burke said.
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marie aka the FertilityBitch said,
September 20, 2006 at 5:15 pm
Last year the USDA was trying to allow sewage sludge as an ok natural fertilizer for organic products. EEEEEEK!
aleta said,
September 21, 2006 at 12:25 am
Where on earth does one get sewage sludge?! Is it sold to people labeled as fertilizer without disclosing that it’s sewage?
Brianne said,
September 21, 2006 at 5:07 am
You can use sewage sludge as fertilizer? I guess that’s if you really hate your neighbors.
Melissa said,
September 21, 2006 at 10:23 am
Yikes! I’ll take my predominantly weed-infested lawn over a well-manicured waste dump any day. At any rate, my vegetable garden grew quite well without the help of anything extra.
Jasmin said,
September 21, 2006 at 10:34 am
Hey Aleta and Brianne, they’re sold under “biosolid pellets” or “pelletized biosoilds.” Synagro is just one of the many companies that hawk the muck.
The Worsted Witch » The Sludge Report said,
September 21, 2006 at 2:18 pm
[...] This sewage sludge sitch is worse than I thought, which is just another reason why you should eat organic. For now at least, organic standards prohibit the use of sewage-sludge-based fertilizers for crops. (In 2000, facing a huge public backlash, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) abandoned plans to allow the use of sewage sludge in organic agriculture.) [...]