‘Forever chemicals’ in sludge used to fertilize farms can pose a health risk to people, EPA says

Chemicals found in sewage sludge that some farmers use to fertilize fields and pastures can pose a threat to human and animal health, the US Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday.

Exposure to food from farms that use the sewage sludge can raise a person’s risk of developing cancer or other health conditions, it said. Under certain conditions, the human health risks from sludge used on farms are “several orders of magnitude” above what the EPA considers acceptable, the agency said.

While the EPA said Tuesday that the general food supply is not at risk, these “forever chemicals,” as they are sometimes called, can pose a threat to the health of people who drink a lot of milk or eat beef from farms that use the sludge.

The specific chemicals, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), belong to a larger class of per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS) and are considered “forever chemicals” because they take such a long time to break down in the environment and in the human body.

Texas farmers say sewage-based fertilizer tainted with “forever chemicals” poisoned their land and killed their livestock

JOHNSON COUNTY — Tony Coleman recognizes the signs all too well. A cow drools strings of saliva. Then it starts to limp, each step slower. Then it grows stiff.

Then it’s quick. There’s nothing to be done. The cow dies.

Since early 2023, the Grandview rancher has watched more than 35 of his 150 Black Angus cattle perish. July was especially brutal. In the span of a week, Coleman lost a 3-week-old calf; a cow; and Little Red, a strong bull full of spirit, leaving Coleman with nothing but unanswered questions.

Biosolids and PFAS questions are rippling to other states after Maine’s land application ban

Since the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972, many wastewater treatment plants have operated with a simple environmental trade-off — they treat water from population centers, industrial sources, landfills and elsewhere, and the leftover solids can be sent to farms to use as fertilizer.

But that arrangement has neared a breaking point in recent years, strained by new understanding of pollutants like PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. In communities around the U.S., the chemicals are exiting the plants via its sludge, known as biosolids, and in some cases contaminating farmland. 

WIPPES Act - Set to Create National Standard for Wipes Labeling

In June, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Wastewater Infrastructure Pollution Prevention and Environments Safety (WIPPES) Act (H.R. 2964), which would create national standards for “Do Not Flush” labeling for non-flushable wipes. The legislation passed out of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in December 2023 and has cleared the House floor in a bipartisan vote. The bill now awaits consideration in the Senate Science, Commerce, and Energy Committee.

This bipartisan legislation is intended to address the growing problem of sewer system clogs caused by improper disposal of consumer wipes that are not intended to be flushed down the toilet. This federal solution is the result of a years-long industry collaboration between the disposable wipes industry and wastewater operators which has resulted in the passage of similar legislation in seven states. The WIPPES Act will create a national standard based on existing state laws to ensure non-flushable wipes will carry prominent “Do Not Flush” labeling on packaging.  Stakeholders on both sides of the issue have reached out in support of the legislation.

News Archive

2025 News

2024 News

2023 News

2022 News

2021 News

2020 News

2019 News

2018 News

2017 News