Eating Sewage Avoid Sludge Used and Sold as
Fertilizer
gardens that grow our food, as well as the parks where we play. No food crop, aside from those labeled U.S. Department of Agriculture certified organic, is regulated to guard against it being grown on land treated with this sludge.
Eight million tons of sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants, euphemistically renamed biosolids, is annually marketed as fertilizer and applied to the American farms and
Economic Security Buying at Home Keeps America
Strong
Poll after poll points to Americans’ preference for locally produced goods, according to
msn.com; the real ques- tion is if we are willing to look for them and pay more. A 21st-century grassroots website,
StillMadeInUSA.com, provides a helping hand with an online shop- ping directory of American brands. Categories range from personal ap-
Because of the nitrogen and phos- phorous found in human solid waste residue, the sludge industry and certain government bodies overlook the toxic blend of all that goes down the drain. That’s why a few conscientious com- panies like Del Monte and Heinz have long had a policy not to purchase food grown in sludge. Sewage sludge contains antimicro- bial compounds, heavy metals, phar- maceuticals and pathogens that may be absorbed by food crops, water supplies
parel, handcrafts and household goods to tools, sports and entertainment, and include special occasions and shop-by- geography menus. “I try to buy American products
whenever possible, but as a working mother of three boys, I don’t have time to drive from store to store or search for hours online,” says founder Stephanie Sanzone, explaining her website’s gen- esis. The Made in USA label represents a heightened concern for guarding American manufacturing jobs, worker
and our bodies. Currently, the Envi- ronmental Protection Agency requires testing for only nine chemical elements and two bacteria for land application of sewage sludge and no testing for residue buildup in soil. Meanwhile, studies from universities including Yale, Cornell and Johns Hopkins express concerns about the health and safety of this practice.
To protect health: Buy USDA-certified organic; ask at farm stands if they use sludge or biosolids; inquire about food and bagged fertilizer companies’ policies; and tell elected officials that citizens don’t want sewage sludge in America’s food and water supplies. For more information visit United Sludge- Free Alliance at
USludgeFree.org.
and environmental health, product quality, consumer safety, national com- petitiveness and security while defend- ing against an increasing trade deficit.
July 2010
17
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56