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‘A Trojan horse’: how toxic sewage sludge became a threat to the future of British farming

Sludge used as fertiliser on farmland contains harmful chemicals that scientists suspect are entering food chain by Rachel Salvidge Mon 7 Jul 2025 09.00 EDT spreading tractor

Experts say the practice of spreading sewage sludge on farmland has become a covert route for dumping toxic industrial waste. Photograph: David Calvert/Alamy

For decades, sewage sludge has been quietly spread across Britain’s farmland, marketed as a nutrient-rich fertiliser. But insiders and scientists warn that hidden within it is a mix of household and industrial chemicals such as Pfas (“forever chemicals”), pharmaceuticals, pesticides, hormone-damaging chemicals and microplastics, threatening the long-term health of the land.

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New Analysis Finds PFAS in 98% of Tested U.S. Waterways Across 19 States

By: Waterkeeper Alliance
June 26, 2025

A new report released today by Waterkeeper Alliance, in partnership with local Waterkeeper groups and the Hispanic Access Foundation, reveals that toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have contaminated 98% of tested U.S. waters, with elevated levels found at 95% of sampled sites downstream from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and 80% downstream from biosolids land application sites.

Building on the 2022 Phase I report—which revealed PFAS contamination in 83% of tested U.S. rivers, lakes, and streams—this second of a multi-phase monitoring initiative focused on sites downstream from WWTPs and permitted biosolids application fields, particularly in disproportionately impacted communities across 19 states. Using PFASsive™ passive samplers, developed by SiREM, these devices were deployed upstream and downstream of 22 WWTPs and 10 biosolids application fields, capturing PFAS levels over at least 20 days—providing more accurate insight than traditional “grab” sampling.
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Sewage sludge moratorium doesn't get vote in New York Assembly

Corn grows in a Steuben County field where sewage sludge was spread for nearly 40 years. (Emily Kenny/Spectrum News 1)

BY Emily Kenny Central NY
PUBLISHED 4:31 PM ET Jun. 18, 2025

A bill that would have put a five-year moratorium on the use of sewage sludge on farmland did not pass the New York state Assembly before the end of this year’s legislative session despite bipartisan support early on.

“If you look at the votes, you’ll see it was unanimous ‘yes,’ bipartisan, and then last minute, the same people who voted ‘yes’ all voted ‘no’ in the Rules Committee,” said state Assemblywoman Anna Kelles, a Democrat and sponsor of the bill.

At the end of session, there was a push from lobbyists in favor of the use of biosolids, which Kelles said swayed other members of the chamber.

“There’s at least one very large private equity firm in one county here in New York mixing our sludge from our toilets and our sinks, our residential and commercial waste, mixing it with wood chips and selling it back to us for huge profits for landscaping, compost, agricultural soil amendments with no disclosure [of PFAS chemicals],” Kelles said.

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Saving Farmland: Battling Toxic PFAS in Biosolids in Texas and Beyond

Learn how millions of tons of sewage sludge (or biosolids), applied as fertilizer, are contaminating American farmland with toxic PFAS chemicals. These “forever chemicals” accumulate in the food chain, endangering human health and wildlife.

More New York counties take action against the use of biosolids on farmland

More New York counties are taking action against the use of biosolids on farmland because of rising contamination concerns.

Schoharie County on Friday became the latest New York county to put a moratorium on the use of biosolids on farmland, and Steuben County on Monday approved a resolution in support of state legislation that would pause the practice.

Fred Risse, a farmer in Schoharie County who considered the use of biosolids, decided against it after researching the fertilizer – and went a step further.

“It was cheap fertilizer, so I ordered some and when they sent me the fact sheets that said how to stay away from wells and ditches,” Risse said. “Then I did some research and saw it can contaminate wells and the soil.”

After discovering it could impact his neighbors, Risse brought the issue to the Middleburgh town board who referred him to the county level.

He organized a few different speakers to come to a hearing on the moratorium, including agriculture specialists from Cornell Cooperative Extension and New Scotland Town Supervisor Douglas LaGrange. The moratorium passed with no opposition.

Donald Airey, a board member, said during the public hearing he can’t believe the state Department of Environmental Conservation supports the use of biosolids.

“I’m really disappointed that all these people have to travel to a county board meeting to get their point across one county at a time when Albany is 50 miles away and they can’t see this, they can’t appreciate this,” Airey said. “It’s very frustrating. I know I harp on these agencies a lot, but I’m sorry, I’m going to call it like I see it. This is absurd, and it’s a dereliction of the baseline mission that DEC is charged with.”

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Tainted fertilizer spread across 10,000 acres may trigger first Superfund designation for farmland

Credit: Scott Goodwill/Unsplash

by EHN Curators Apr 22, 2025

A decades-long practice of using textile mill sludge as free fertilizer has left nearly 10,000 acres of South Carolina farmland contaminated with toxic PFAS, prompting calls for a sweeping federal cleanup.

Hiroko Tabuchi reports for The New York Times.

In short:

South Carolina officials are urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to extend Superfund status to farmland around the shuttered Galey & Lord textile mill, citing widespread contamination from industrial sludge once promoted as fertilizer.
The sludge, spread between 1993 and 2013 on more than 300 fields, contains PFAS, which are linked to cancer and other health problems; in some areas, contamination exceeds EPA safety limits by hundreds or thousands of times.
Although the mill site itself was designated a Superfund site in 2022, this would mark the first time farmland is included due to contamination from sewage sludge fertilizer, raising serious concerns about food safety and long-term health risks.

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From sewage and scum to swimming in ‘blue gold’: how Switzerland transformed its rivers

Bathers relaxing by Lake Geneva, Switzerland, at the Bains des Pâquis, a swimming area in the centre of the city. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

In the 1960s, the Swiss had some of the dirtiest water in Europe. Now, their cities boast pristine rivers and lakes – and other countries are looking to follow their lead

"...across Switzerland, such swimming scenes are normal. This hasn’t always been the case. In the 1960s, Switzerland had among the dirtiest water in Europe, blighted by mats of algae, mountains of foam, scum, and dead fish floating on the surface. For decades, swimming was banned in some rivers such as the Aare and Limmat on health grounds, and people could get ill if they swallowed the water.

Raw sewage and industrial wastewater flowed directly into water bodies – in 1965 only 14% of the population was connected to a wastewater treatment plant. Today, it is 98%, and the country has a reputation for pristine swimming waters, sometimes referred to as its “blue gold” – and it’s all thanks to a complex network of sewage plants....A key driver of that transformation was a tragedy in the mountain resort of Zermatt in 1963, when a typhoid outbreak killed three people and made 437 others ill. Soldiers were deployed and schools turned into emergency hospitals as panic spread. Pressure grew on the government to clean up the waterways, found to be the source of the outbreak. In 1971, the treatment of wastewater was written into Swiss law....In 2016, Switzerland became the first country to enforce legislation to clean up drugs and chemicals that collect in waterways. This work is based on a precautionary principle – if something has unknown effects, err on the side of caution. “It’s just a matter of time before they cause problems,” says Mattle....Conventional sewage treatment works are designed to deal with organic waste but are less effective with chemicals, hence plants across Switzerland are getting an upgrade....Each year, the Swiss are adding micropollutant treatment facilities to seven sewage plants, and now have a total of 37. By 2040, there will be about 140....In response to Switzerland’s work, the EU requires wastewater treatment plants serving more than 10,000 people to be able to remove micropollutants by 2045."

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PFAS Contaminated Sewage Sludge Fertilizers Can Cause Cancer and Other Diseases – US EPA

tractor spreading sewage sludge on farm field

The EPA recently released a long-awaited draft report demonstrating that toxic “forever chemicals” in sewage sludge applied to farmland can cause cancer and other diseases in people who live near farm fields where the sludge is applied, or consume tainted milk, beef or other foods from these farms.

The chemicals – per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – contaminate wastewater treatment plant sludge that for decades, at EPA’s urging, has been applied as cheap fertilizer to many millions of acres of pasture and cropland. PFAS are taken up by crops and grasses grown on contaminated land, accumulate in the meat and milk of pasture-raised livestock, and pollute the drinking water of at least 45% of Americans. Testing by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that nearly everyone in the U.S. has one or more PFAS in their bloodstreams.

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Forever chemicals in sewage sludge: A growing contamination crisis

A new EPA report warns that PFAS in biosolids may contaminate water and food. In NC, past use as fertilizer threatens drinking water in the Triangle, leaving communities without clear solutions.

Mary Grace has lived in Durham for decades, but lately, she’s been gripped with fear.

“People are hurting. People are getting cancer. People are dying because of this, and who's held accountable?” she asked, her voice heavy with emotion.

Grace, who lost multiple family members to cancer, believes that chemicals like PFAS — per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — are an invisible threat, lurking in drinking water, soil and food. These so-called “forever chemicals” don’t break down in the environment and have been linked to cancer, thyroid disorders, and other serious health effects.

“They don’t just disappear. They’re in our food, our water, our land, our air,” she said. “We have to become activists, because corporations and the government are not addressing this.”

Her concern stems from a newly released EPA Draft Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment, which found that PFAS chemicals, particularly PFOA and PFOS, are widespread in biosolids — treated sewage sludge that is applied as fertilizer on farmland. The report suggests that biosolids could be contaminating drinking water sources, livestock and the food supply at levels that exceed safety thresholds.

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Biosolids in Agriculture: The Strife not with Mother Nature, but Man-Made Chemicals

In Johnson County, Texas, ranchers are facing sickened family members and dying cattle—not from nature, but from man-made chemicals.

Tony Coleman and James Farmer, two local ranchers, noticed rancid odors from their neighbor’s property— stemming from the large, conspicuous piles of smoking fertilizer. Then when heavy rain poured down, the runoff flowed into Coleman’s and Farmer’s land and ponds. It wouldn’t be long before their stock ponds were brimming with dead, floating fish appeared. These are the same ponds their livestock drink from.

The culprit? Their neighbor used “biosolids”—a marketing term for sewage sludge produced by wastewater facilities. Sewage sludge is exactly what you would imagine. It is the by-product of everything that goes down the drain, containing various hazardous medical, household, and industrial chemicals. More bluntly, it’s human fecal matter mixed with a cocktail of thousands of other toxic substances, marketed as fertilizer to farmers far and wide. In just 2018, Texas used or disposed of 473,800 dry tons of sewage sludge.

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