The Times dug into the widespread use of sewage sludge as fertilizer, which is sometimes heavily contaminated by “forever chemicals.”
A field in Texas where sludge-based fertilizer had been applied. Neighbors claim it led to animal deaths.Credit...Jordan Vonderhaar for The New York Times
By Hiroko Tabuchi
Aug. 31, 2024
For decades, the government has encouraged farmers across the United States to spread sewage sludge on their cropland and pastures. But now there’s a growing awareness that sludge fertilizer can contain heavy concentrations of “forever chemicals” linked to cancer, birth defects and other health risks.
This sludge is a byproduct of the nation’s wastewater-treatment plants. It’s the solid stuff that remains after city sewage is treated. But because it’s essentially concentrated waste, those toxic chemicals, known as PFAS, can become concentrated in it, too.
Here are the key findings from The New York Times’s examination of sludge fertilizer use and the consequences for farmers and the food supply.