Toxic Biosolids Threaten U.S. Farmland and Livestock

Many years ago a civil engineer explained to me the wisdom of taking solid biological residues from sewage treatment plants—dubbed biosolids—and using them on farm fields and garden plots. After all, nature intended for human wastes to return to the soil to replenish it in the same way animal manure has long been used to fertilize farm fields. 'What about all the industrial chemicals that end up in wastewater,' I asked.

But believe it or not, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to contamination of biosolids. A 2022 report on chemicals found by EPA's examination of biosolids around the country lists 726 chemicals. These include chemicals used in pesticides, drugs, cosmetics, and flame retardants as well as dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls widely used in electric transformers and highly carcinogenic. For many years the EPA has assured farmers that biosolids are safe.

Sewage Fertilizer Farmland Livestock Chemicals EPA

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