09/07/2024
“Forever Chemicals” in our food?
Treated municipal sewage sludge (bio-solids) has been promoted for years by states and ag specialists as an inexpensive fertilizer. Properly treated and tested, it is rich in organic matter and other essential nutrients, and free from dangerous pathogens and heavy metals. Recently, however, it has been determined that it is full of unregulated “forever chemicals” known generally as PFAS. One of these, PFOA, was found in drinking water in Hoosick Falls and many other municipalities across the country, and is now recognized as a health threat to millions of people.
Now these chemicals have been found to contaminate and harm agricultural land across the country.
You maybe saw this front page article in the Times. It describes yet another painful blow for our farmers and frightening news for consumers.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/31/climate/pfas-fertilizer-sludge-farm.html
Because these chemicals are recognized as serious health threats and are showing up in our farm lands, crops and animals, it is another reason to eat organic - or know your farmer and know what they do for fertility. Application of treated sewage sludge is not allowed under USDA organic rules. Exposure to PFAS chemicals (which have been found to be literally everywhere and in nearly all our modern convenience and household items*) CAN be avoided by watching what we eat, what we wear and what we sit on. It’s a bit of work to find out where these chemicals are used (or not used) but fortunately, many nonprofit and federal agencies are now working on this urgent problem.
*Partial list of common products containing or using PFAS chemicals:
• Stain-resistant coatings on carpets, upholstery, and fabrics;
• Nonstick cookware;
• Personal care products: shampoo, dental floss, nail polish, and eye makeup;
• Cleaning products;
• Water-resistant fabrics, like rain jackets, umbrellas and tents.
• Grease-resistant paper
• (source: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/chemical/pfas.htm)
Even the home gardener needs to be wary to avoid this contamination:
Two popular biosolids (sewage sludge) fertilizers found at local hardware and box stores:
Other soil products like composted manure or plant material do NOT contain sewage sludge.
This useful document, from Maine (the first state to ban sewage sludge on agricultural lands), goes into more detail for the home gardener:
https://extension.umaine.edu/gardening/understanding-pfas-and-your-home-garden/
Some recent updates from the highly respectable Environmental Working Group (including a link to the recent huge spill in Maine and what the government and military are doing.)
https://www.ewg.org/areas-focus/toxic-chemicals/pfas-chemicals
And finally, for the science students: what ARE the various PFAS chemicals?
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/docs/PFAS-FamilyTree-Community.pdf
