Sludge Free UMBT is a local non-profit organization formed in 2014 by residents to stop sewage sludge dumping in their township.

Sludge Free UMBT is against turning our rural community into a toxic waste dump and  wants to ensure that residents’ health concerns are prioritized.

 

1. WHAT IS SEWAGE SLUDGE?

2. WHY DOES SEWAGE SLUDGE CONTAIN HAZARDOUS WASTE?

3. IS SEWAGE SLUDGE TREATED BEFORE IT IS DUMPED ON FARMLAND?

4. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TYPE A AND TYPE B SEWAGE SLUDGE?

5.  DOES THIS MEAN THAT TYPE A SLUDGE IS SAFER THAN TYPE B SLUDGE?

6. IF SLUDGE IS SO BAD, WHY DOES THE EPA ALLOW IT TO BE LAND APPLIED?

7. WHY DOES PENN STATE CONDONE THE USE OF SEWAGE SLUDGE AS FERTILIZER?

8. WHAT ARE THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF SEWAGE SLUDGE?

9. AM I AFFECTED BY SEWAGE SLUDGE IF I DON’T LIVE NEAR IT?

10. WHAT SHOULD BE DONE WITH SEWAGE SLUDGE TO PROTECT OUR HEALTH?

 

 

1. WHAT IS SEWAGE SLUDGE?

The waste industry markets sewage sludge with euphemistic terms such as “biosolids”, “organic compost”, and “organic biosolids compost”.  In truth, sewage sludge is a highly complex and unpredictable mixture of biological and chemical pollutants coming from residential, commercial and industrial sewage waste.  Over 90,000 toxic substances and chemical compounds can be found concentrated in sewage sludge, and new chemicals are being developed at the rate of 1,000 per year. In fact, our federal government has defined sewage sludge as a pollutant [40 CFR 230.3(j)]. They have sounded an alarm that "the EPA cannot assure the public that current land application practices are protective of human health and the environment."  [USEPA2000, OIG Audit Report. Biosolids Management and Enforcement 2000-P-10].

 

2. WHY DOES SEWAGE SLUDGE CONTAIN HAZARDOUS WASTE?

Under the "Domestic Sewage Exclusion" of the 503 rule (the federal law governing land application of sewage sludge), every industry connected to a sewer line can pipe its hazardous waste into a wastewater treatment plant.  Industries benefit from the domestic sewage exclusion in two ways:  1) they can avoid the expense of properly treating pollutants, and 2) once the two waste streams mix, industries are no longer liable for any damages that might result from this toxic mixture, especially when it is processed and land applied.     

 

3. IS SEWAGE SLUDGE TREATED BEFORE IT IS DUMPED ON FARMLAND?

The goal of the wastewater treatment facility is to produce clean water for release back into our rivers and streams; it is never to produce clean sludge. In fact, the dirtier the sludge, the more complete is the concentration of noxious wastes and the more the treatment plant has done its job.

 

4. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TYPE A AND TYPE B SEWAGE SLUDGE?

Type B sewage sludge comes directly from the wastewater treatment facility. There is a set limit for 2 indicator pathogens and for 10 heavy metals. There are no limits on any other pollutants and pathogens.   

Type A sewage sludge has gone through an additional drying process that reduces the 2 indicator pathogens and converts the sludge into a pelletized form.  It has similar limits to type B for 10 heavy metals. There are no limits on any other pollutants and pathogens.  

 

5.  DOES THIS MEAN THAT TYPE A SLUDGE IS SAFER THAN TYPE B SLUDGE?

No.  The terms “type A” and “type B” only pertain to the allowable levels of the 2 indicator pathogens and the 10 heavy metals. They have nothing to do with the pathogens that are not tested for or the thousands of chemical contaminants that remain untested.  The health effects associated with all types of sewage sludge are related to these unregulated pollutants.

When sludge is heated to reduce indicator pathogens, it is classified as type A.  However as vulnerable pathogens are deactivated, the more robust bacteria, viruses and prions survive and evolve.  Some of the treatment methods used to reduce the level of indicator pathogens are not working, so type A sludge is often type B sludge.  Moreover, when sludge has been spread on the land and exposed to moisture, regrowth of bacteria can occur, and type A reverts to type B.  Sludge processing also appears to encourage the growth of superbugs which explains why people exposed to it contract MRSA infections (Testimony of Dr. Caroline Snyder, House Democratic Policy Hearing on Biosolids, 2016, August 29).

For example, in 2007 Milwaukee Public Schools closed 30 fields and playgrounds after type A sewage sludge that met the “most stringent safety regulations” created numerous health and safety problems.  Chemical analyses of Milwaukee’s type A sludge revealed that tons of it, which had already been spread across Milwaukee County, were contaminated with high levels of cancer-causing PCBs.  Until the topsoil could be removed and buried at a hazardous waste site, the City was required to fence off the fields where over 16,000 youths and adults played softball, soccer and kickball.

 

6.  IF SLUDGE IS SO BAD, WHY DOES THE EPA ALLOW IT TO BE LAND APPLIED?

When the practice of dumping sewage sludge in the ocean was banned in 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency promulgated "the 503 sludge rule" to govern the land application of sewage sludge. The EPA's own scientists opposed this rule. Despite their opposition, EPA officials, together with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the sewage sludge industry's largest trade organization, the Water Environment Federation, decided that it would be acceptable for biosolids (sewage sludge) to contain hazardous waste. Tens of millions of taxpayer dollars were allocated to agricultural colleges to pump out and publish articles to support the idea that when you mix known hazardous wastes together and put them on farmland — abracadabra, they stop being hazardous! Rufus Chaney of the USDA refers to this as "sludge magic"!

 

7. WHY DOES PENN STATE CONDONE THE USE OF SEWAGE SLUDGE AS FERTILIZER?

Penn State is one of many agricultural universities that receives funding from the USDA to support the land application of sewage sludge.  To this end, Penn State focuses on the nutrient component of sewage sludge (which all authorities agree is less than 3 percent) and does not address the myriad hazardous wastes concentrated in sludge (the remaining 97 percent).

According to chemist and expert on lead contamination, Stanford Tackett: "The high sounding justifications such as 'sludge is a beneficial resource' and 'sludge is just as safe as manure' are clever excuses designed to fool the public. ...Only 1 to 3 percent of the sludge is useful to plants. The other 97 to 99 percent is contaminated waste that should not be spread where people live."

 

8. WHAT ARE THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF SEWAGE SLUDGE?

Common physical issues reported by residents across the nation that live within a one mile radius of sludge dumping grounds are: respiratory problems, eye, nose, and throat irritation, gastrointestinal problems (such as nausea or vomiting), rashes and skin ulcers.  Several published health reports clearly link the sludge application sites to the overall decline of health by the surrounding communities. 

 

9. AM I AFFECTED BY SEWAGE SLUDGE IF I DON’T LIVE NEAR IT?

Unless you purchase “USDA certified organic” foods, it is likely that you are eating food that has been grown in sewage sludge,  drinking milk from cows that have grazed on sludge-covered fields and eating meat from animals that have grazed on sludge-covered fields.

 

10.  WHAT SHOULD BE DONE WITH SEWAGE SLUDGE TO PROTECT OUR HEALTH?

Until responsible technology is implemented, sewage sludge should be isolated in secured landfills, far away from our families and our food source.  

 

By signing this petition you are voicing your concerns about the sludging of farmland in Upper Mount Bethel Township. This petition will be sent to local and state representatives to insist that they protect the health and welfare of the people they represent.

Share the link to this petition with others you know that live in UMBT and ask them to sign it.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” - Margaret Mead