Sludge Leadership Team

The PEN Sludge Team thanks you for visiting our website. All of us are volunteers interested in organizing around the sludge issue. If you live in our beautiful Commonwealth, and you feel you have benefitted from the information we have gathered, we hope you will consider joining PEN. Please visit the PEN membership page.

Contact Person: Tina Daly — fdaly1880@aol.com

Position Paper of the PEN Sludge Leadership Team

WHY WE ARE OPPOSED TO THE LAND APPLICATION OF SEWAGE SLUDGE

General Knowledge

The Sludge Hits the Fan (chapter 8 from the Toxic Sludge is Good For You book, call to order 608-238-2236)

Let Them Eat Sludge, by John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton

Cornell Waste Management Institute

Abstracts of sludge papers available

The Case For Caution: Recommendations for Land Application of Sewage Sludges and An Appraisal of the US EPA's Part 503 Sludge Rules by Ellen Harrison, Murray B. McBride and David R. Bouldin, Working Paper August 1997, Revised February 1999

Comments to US EPA regarding Dioxin Standards for Land Applied Sewage Sludges March 27, 2000

The Real Dirt on Sewage Sludge -- Natural Life article by Wendy Priesnitz (Canadian) ReSource Institute for Low Entropy Systems: Sludge Papers & Books Sludge Web Links "Ban Land Application" vs. "Clean Up the Sludge" - A Correspondence The Sludging of America - 1996 E Magazine article By Tom Bisogno More than a bad smell? - sewage sludge could affect every American Denver sludge is stinky biz - EPA policy raises troubling questions EPA defends sludge rules - Selling sludge is a sticky operation Activists search for answers about sludge and its impact on our food supply, Summer, 1998 (Copies $3.50 ) THE WORKBOOK, Southwest Research and Information Center, PO Box 4524, 105 Stanford SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106; Tel (505) 346-1455; Fax (505) 346-1459 Ben Oostdam's Sludge Page RACHEL's Environment & Health Weekly Articles on Sludge: #564 - The Toxic Substances Control Act, 18-Sep-97 #561 - New U.S. Waste Policy, Pt. 2: Sewage Sludge, 08-28-97 #560 - A New U.S. Waste Strategy Emerges, Part 1, 08-21-97 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- National Sludge Alliance factsheets #100 - EPA Overcomes Federal Prohibition Against Open Dumps #101 - The Bell Tolls for EPA #102 - The Law vs. EPA Science #103 - SLUDGE MAGIC - From New York City to Sierra Blanca, Texas #104 - EPA's Reckless Endangerment of Public Health #105 - EPA's Sludge Options: Open Dumps or Landfill Disposal #106 - The People vs. EPA & the Courts #107 - The Sludge Gets Deeper #108 - Public Health vs. Removal Credits #109 - Food Safety Claims #110 - Beneficial Use, Disease/Death: By Design or Ignorance? #111 - Caution: EPA Scientist at Work #112 - Deception-Deceit-Diversion #113 - Is It Toxic Sludge or Cow Manure Poisoning Our Food Supply? #114 - Toxic Sludge: Timeline to Disaster #122 - Catch 22 -- The Plight of the Farmer Who Accepts Sludge #123 - The Terrible Truth #127 - SEWAGE SLUDGE IS HAZARDOUS TO ENVIRONMENT #128 - Toxic/Hazardous Sludge Management is State/Local Responsibility #129 - EPA UNDERPLAYS DANGER TO FARMERS AND PUBLIC #131 - FARMS AND PUBLIC HEALTH DESTROYED --- FOR REMOVAL CREDITS #132 - BIOSOLIDS: 60s SCIENCE BRINGS DEATH IN DISGUISE #133 - A NEW GOD IS CREATED -- Regulation Authorize Lying to Public and Courts #134 - Media reports THE NEW PLAGUES are here #135 - Biosolids--collateral damage -- Ocean to farm and lawn -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What's in it? Dumping Sewage Sludge On Organic Farms? (Environmental Working Group report) Methyl Mercury Contamination and Emission to the Atmosphere from Soil Amended with Municipal Sewage Sludge, Anthony Carpi, toxicology, Journal Environ. Quality 26:1650-1655 (1997) (Also Genetic Analysis of Drinking Water Pathogens) Staph Aureus pathogen in sewage sludge. Legionnaires Disease in Potting Soil PCBs from Sludge Effect Cattle Survival of Ecoli in Sludge Ammended Soil Ample Questions and Answers by Dr. Aaron Margolin, PhD Microbiology - Prepared for the Shenandoah County, Virginia Sludge Panel Pharmaceuticals RACHEL's Environment & Health Weekly Articles on Sludge: #614 - Drugs In The Water, 09-03-98 #702 - Pay Dirt from the Human Genome , 6-Jul-00 Dioxins RACHEL's Environment & Health Weekly Articles on Sludge: #636 - Dioxins -- The View From Europe, 02-04-99 ... "An important pathway for spreading dioxins into the environment is using sewage sludge as a soil amendment or a fertilizer." #640 - Chlorine Chemistry News, 03-04-99 Info on why tiny amounts of dioxins and other hormone disrupting chemicals are so dangerous Radioactivity Contamination of fertilizer The EPA's Slight of Hand: Laundering Radioactive Sludge in Denver Lowry Superfund contamination spread on food crops EPA's Radwaste to Consumers Sludge Policy Action alert about Lowry. RADNET - lack of EPA investigation into radioactivity in sludge -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Mis-)Regulation Toxic Avengers: EPA is pushing hazardous sludge as a fertilizer and the locals are fighting back, In These Times, by Laura Orlando, February 1999. EPA's Secret Role in Toxic Sludge (Sheila Cherry, Insight Magazine) Observations on Regulatory Compliance in Sludge Application - experiences with Synagro in Riverside County, CA Faced with faulty science, EPA muzzles critics (USA Today) General Accounting Office (GAO) Reports ordered by phone 202-312-6000. The first issue is free. Nuclear Regulation: Action Needed to Control Radioactive Contamination at Sewage Treatment Plants (May 1994, GOA/RECED-94-133) Environmental Protection: Interim Actions to Better Control Cement Kiln Dust (August, 1995, GAO/RECED 95-192) Environmental Protection: Allegations by EPA Employees GAO/RCED-99-61R, January, 1999 released 3/1/99 The Sludge Story - Is Toxic Sludge Good For You? A brief history of sludge use. EPA's 503 Regulations California Farm Bureau Federation's Comments on the State Water Resource Control Board Statewide Program Final Environmental Impact Report for General Waste Discharge Requirements for Biosolids Land Application Court Voids EPA "Guidance" as Illegal Rulemaking - Appalachian Power wins suit against EPA (not sludge-specific) EPA Decisions Driven by Politics: Agency Responsible for Any Harmful Health Effects of Sludge says National Wilderness Institute press release Land Application of Sludge, The Uncensored Story by Henry J. Staudinger Sludge Excuses Still Stink (Sheila R. Cherry, Insight Magazine) Whistleblowers Statement to EPA by Dr. David Lewis (check out Dr. Lewis' very enlightening homepage) - EPA Whistleblower California Farm Bureau Federation comments expressing concern to the State Water Resources Control Board regarding proposed sludge use plan. William Sanjour of US EPA on Land Application of Sewage Sludge CDC Identifies Class B Biosolids as HAZARDOUS! Workers Exposed to Class B Biosolids During and After Field Application CDC (Center For Disease Control) Releases recommendations to protect workers. The CDC HAZARD IDENTIFICATION #10 report warns workers of human disease causing organisms found in Class B Sludge which can be hazardous if inhaled or ingested. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- People getting sick or dying CDC sounds an alarm on the risks of sludge Officials wouldn't blame sludge (John Tuohy, USA Today) State probe wrongly blamed bee sting (John Tuohy, USA Today) Toxic Waste Used As Fertilizer? (Sheila Cherry, Insight Magazine) Statement to EPA by Joanne Marshall regarding the death of her son A terrible waste gets long look (Tom Gibb, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) about a boy who died Human waste may be crypto culprit; study suggests source of outbreak wasn't cattle 1997 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article Genetic Polymorphism among Cryptosporidium Parvum Isolates: Evidence of Two Distinct Human Transmission Cycles, CDC Emerging Infectious Diseases Vol. 3 NO 4, 1997. - This is the above-mentioned report that suggests that the Milwaukee outbreak was from sewage overflows and inadequate treatment not cows. Death on Tap 1998 Dallas Observer article about Cryptosporidium contamination Two Case Studies - New Hamshire and Sweden - animal & plant toxicity and human health effects Neurotoxicity from Municipal Sewage Sludge, Raymond Singer, Ph.D. EPA and the New Plagues Bacterial Infections from sludge Paradise Sludged; Linda Lingle's Toxic Legacy - Boy develops cancer after sludge exposure Potential Health Effects of Odor From Animal Operations, Wastewater Treatment, and Recycling of Byproducts Toxic Tort Law Resources -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Regional & Local Fights Death of Tony Behun, DEP, UMWA and Rush Township Synopsis Synagro files $2.7 mil suit in FEDERAL COURT against Rush Township, PA Nightbreakers.org Sludge Report (from the site of Camille "Bud" George, the Democratic Chairman of the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee in the State House of Reps) Sample Sewage Sludge Tipping Fee Ordinance Alcosan may fire firm that bribed Gigliotti The Sludging of Paradise - Sludge in Hawaii Officials: Sludge safe if properly managed -- Mobile Register article on Grand Bay AL problems with BioGro Sludge facility ex-workers questioned -- Tennessean article about Davidson County TN sludge composting facility. Georgia Dairy Farms Ruined By Sludge - Lawsuit Filed: (Click on SEARCH; SUBJECT: "1998 news and sports stories" - type "sewage sludge" as your search term Do it again for Subject: "1999 news and sports stories") Environmental Interest Organization, VA - news articles & links page On The Ground: The Spreading of Toxic Sludge in Vermont Injunction Filed in Colorado to Block Plutonium Fertilizer Plan NoSludge Residents of Antelope Valley, CA oppose Wheelabrator's plan to dispose of LA sludge in their valley. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Agricultural Usage Laundering Toxic Waste Organic Food and Sewage Sludge Toxic Element Accumulation in Animal Body Tissue from Sludged Grassland Three-part June 1997 CNN series by Bill Dorman: 1. More than a bad smell? - Sewage sludge could affect every American 2. Denver sludge is stinky biz - EPA policy raises troubling questions 3. EPA defends sludge rules - Selling sludge is a sticky operation EPA's Plan to Fertilize Your Food with Sewage Sludge (PR Watch issue on sewage sludge) Information about the use of sludge in agriculture - Swedish Sludge Web Site, in English and Swedish Sludge Conference at Franklin Pierce Law Center - bit of info about New Hampshire and Massachussetts Sludge on Your Supper Table Domtar Paper Mill sludges in Canada used as fertilizer Cow Talk (cartoon) Washington Toxics Coalition. Toxics in Fertilizers. Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy Dumping sewage on Britain's Farms Hog Waste: Center for Rural Affairs - works against corporate farming Boss Hog News & Observer series on NC hog farming Toxic Fertilizer: Fear in the fields: How hazardous wastes become fertilizer (Scroll down the page) A July 1997 Seattle Times investigation by Duff Wilson found that, across the nation, industrial wastes laden with heavy metals and other dangerous materials are being used in fertilizers and spread over farmland. The process, which is legal, saves dirty industries the high costs of disposing of hazardous wastes. Farm Fields: Ideal Resting Place for Toxic Waste? - a summary of Duff Wilson's expose Hazardous Waste as Fertlizer - March 1998 Environmental Working Group report Biosolids used to close recycling loop: Potlatch, EVTAC hope poplars will grow in tailings basin Dombind papermill sludge: Toxic Waste Continues to be Disguised as Dust Suppressant Dombind: End in Sight? (Ontario) Sludge on Your Supper Table Domtar Paper Mill sludges in Canada used as fertilizer -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Sludge Resources Other Information from the Sludge Information / Resources List Working Paper, August, 2000 Charlotte Hartman, National Sludge Alliance NIOSH Air Contaminants Colorado Sludge Composting Facility Cause for Serious Concern Occupational Exposure of Employees to Endotoxins 1996-03-05 Enumerating Salmonella in biosolids for compliance with pathogen regulations, William A. Yanko et. al, Water Environment Research , Vol. 67, No 3, 1995 University of Pittsburgh laboratory research has concluded that HIV risk does exist for wastewater workers because it remains stable for up to 12 hours. CDC contends that the study does not reflect how HIV behaves in the natural environment. Because HIV is fatal, even a small risk is a problem and health experts recommend employees be educated about the dangers and trained to minimize risk of workplace exposure. For information on workplace pathogens CDC (404) 639-2239 OSHA 800-356-4674 (Industrial Wastewater Jan/Feb 1998) Dying from Dioxin by Lois Gibbs and CHEJ (703) 237-2249 Living Downstream by Sandra Stiengraber (ecologist looks at cancer and the environment) Our Stolen Future by Theo Colburn, Dianne Dumanoski, John Peterson Meyers (available at bookstores) National Research Council Use of Reclaimed Water and Sludge in Food Crop Production Telephone order (800) 624-6242 New York Health Department Study of Composting site in Islip, (Bioaresols) Telephone order (800) 438-1158 David L. Lewis, microbial ecology, works as a research microbiologist for US EPA Ecosystems Research Division, and is an adjunct scientist at the University of Georgia. "Out of Control: Ten Case Studies in Regulatory Abuse." Excerpt from Sludge Magic; at the EPA "according to scientists working for EPA Office of Research & Development, the sludge rule on land application of municipal wastes (40 CFR Part 503) promulgated in 1993 may be the most scientifically unsound action ever taken by the agency. Rather than being protective, the rule actually threatens public health and the environment." Land farming Sludge Fact Pack, CHEJ, PO Box 6806, Falls Church, VA 22040 Tel 703-237-2249 $7.00 Sludge Information /Resources List Working Paper, March, 1999 Charlotte Hartman, National Sludge Alliance General Accounting Office (GAO) Reports ordered by phone (202) 312-6000. The first issue is free. Nuclear Regulation: Action Needed to Control Radioactive Contamination at Sewage Treatment Plants (May 1994, GOA/RECED-94-133) Environmental Protection Interim Actions to Better Control Cement Kiln Dust (August, 1995, GAO/RECED 95-192) EPA/allegations by Employees (whistleblowers) GAO/RCED-99-61R, January, 1999 released 3/1/99 The Science of the Unpleasant: Risk Assessment and Urban Sludge Panel Presentation at the American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science, February 14, 1998 (also available from Cornell) Emerging Infectious Diseases New Reemerging and Drug Resistant Diseases: Role of the Sanitarian Ralph J. Torch, US Department of Health and Human Service presented at Fourth World Congress on Environ. Health May 27-31, 1996 Enumerating Salmonella in biosolids for compliance with pathogen regulations, William A. Yanko et. al, Water Environment Research , Vol. 67, No 3, 1995 Recycling Human Waste: Fertile Ground or Toxic Legacy? By Gary Gardener, World Watch Magazine Jan/Feb 1998 address Worldwatch Institute, 1776 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036 University of Pittsburgh laboratory research has concluded that HIV risk does exist for wastewater workers because it remains stable for up to 12 hours. CDC contends that the study does not reflect how HIV behaves in the natural environment. Because HIV is fatal, even a small risk is a problem and health experts recommend employees be educated about the dangers and trained to minimize risk of workplace exposure. For information on workplace pathogens CDC (404) 639-2239 OSHA 800-356-4674 (Industrial Wastewater Jan/Feb 1998) THE WORKBOOK, Southwest Research and Information Center, PO Box 4524, 105 Stanford SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106; Tel (505) 346-1455; Fax (505) 346-1459 Activists search for answers about sludge and its impact on our food supply, Summer, 1998 (Copies $3.50 ) Dying from Dioxin by Lois Gibbs and CHEJ (703) 237-2249 Living Downstream by Sandra Stiengraber (ecologist looks at cancer and the environment) Our Stolen Future by Theo Colburn, Dianne Dumanoski, John Peterson Meyers (available at bookstores) Endocrine disrupter video cassette series for loan. Contact your local library Interlibrary Loan Dept. Request should be made to Librarian World Wildlife Fund, 1250 24th St. NW, Washington, DC 20037-1175 email carla.langeveld@wwfus.org (loans cannot be made to individuals) National Research Council Use of Reclaimed Water and Sludge in Food Crop Production Telephone order (800) 624-6242 New York Health Department Study of Composting site in Islip, (Bioaerosols) Telephone order (800) 438-1138 Land farming Sludge Fact Pack, CHEJ, PO Box 6806, Falls Church, VA 22040 Tel (703) 237-2249 ($7.00) Impact of Sludge Disposal on Human Health and the Food Chain, CEC, 33Central Ave., Albany, NY 12210 (518) 462-5527 ($10) State by State data on drinking water systems with health violations, toxic chemical discharges directly to water, and more http://www.ewg.org