DO WE CARE ENOUGH? WHAT IS SLUDGE?

: The Harper-Collins Dictionary of Environmental Science describes sewage sludge as A viscous, semisolid mixture of bacteria and virus-laden organic matter, toxic metals, synthetic organic chemicals, and settled solids removed from domestic and industrial waste water at sewage treatment plants. Many of you have heard about and/or experienced health problem we associate with exposure to sewage sludge applied to farmlands near our homes. What we have found over the last twenty years is that the problems we experienced are the same as those of other communities worldwide have during the spraying or plowing of the sewage sludge on farm land. No matter how many thousands report what is believed to be sludge exposure illnesses, the EPA, the CDC, or none of the federal/state or local health agencies will investigate these adverse health issues. It does not matter if we have letters from doctors saying that sludge applied next to our homes will or has caused our health problems to become worseall human health complaints are ignored. If you do not live near a sludge applied farm, you may think you have missed the bullet. Perhaps not. Were you aware that your food may be grown in fields with sewage sludge spread or sprayed as fertilizer? Are you aware that the reuse of wastewater from sewage treatment plants is now used to irrigate food crops like those in Salinas, California; the site of the E. coli spinach and lettuce contamination for Salmonella and the deaths of more people than killed by AIDS is attributed to food contamination? For example, potatoes love lead and your cereal may be crunchy with Cadmium or Lead! The worst thing is that nobody knows what is in their food, water, or air. How would you know if your food was grown on land with applied sewage sludge? You wont. I called all the major grocery stores in our state and asked them if they bought produce from farms using sewage sludge. The purchasing directors had never heard of sewage sludge used as fertilizer and did not know if any of their growers used municipal waste. So nobody knew before they bought the sweet potatoes, cabbage, collards, spinach, peanuts, potatoes, lettuce and other produce. We contacted all major cereal companies in the US and asked if cereal grains were grown on sludge applied farmlands. Their response was that the EPA said it was safe, so they do not test any of the cereal grains for toxic heavy metals or chemical uptakethey just test for bacteria, mold and yeast before processing your morning bowl of cereal. Although land applied sewage sludge is not responsible for all environmental pollutants; it unfortunately impacts our food, water, and airand nobody is tracking these pollutants that science now links to many of the ever growing health and developmental problems in the U.S. and other sections of the world. Here are some statistics and/or scientific studies that link environmental toxins to US health conditions: April 2002, the Inspector General of the US Environmental Protection Agency which oversees state sewage sludge regulations, issued a report in which it concluded: EPA cannot assure the public that current land applications (of sewage sludge) practices are protective of human health and the environment. The Collaborative on Health and Environment reports that chronic disease and disabilities have reached epidemic proportions in the US affecting more than 100 MILLION men, women and children which is onethird of our population. The human cost is immeasurable and the treatment cost exceeds $325 BILLION dollars each year in health care and $1.1 TRILLION dollars lost in productivity (Milken Institute). The CDC says that 7680 Million US citizens become sick each year from food contamination. Of these, over 300,000 will be hospitalized and over 19,000 will die (this figure is from 1999 and updated figures have not/will not be released by the CDC with current informationwhich we believe will be higher!). 1

A collection of scientific studies gathered by CHE indicate a very strong relationship between environmental toxic factors and these diseases and conditions: asthma, autism, birth defects, attention deficit disorders, cancers, developmental disabilities including retardation; childhood obesity, diabetes, infertility, Parkinsons disease and many other chronic and disabling conditions. The Institute of Medicine warns us that the need for communities to reduce or minimize environmental exposures to chemicals through contaminated soil, water and air can improve the health of all Americans. The chemicals released into the sewage system and sprayed or spread on farmlands offers opportunities for these untested synthetic, organic and inorganic chemicals to be released into the air, water, soil, food, and to become part of our bodies and the bodies of our children. The US Government Accountability Office reported to Congress in 2005 that new chemicals are introduced in the US at the rate of 700-1,000 per yearand only takes about 3 weeks! The chemical companies do not have to test the new chemicals for toxicity and gage exposure levels before they are submitted for EPA review. According to the GAO report, the chemical companies do not voluntarily provide data to the EPA. So far the EPA has only used its authority to require testing for fewer than 200 chemicals, removed 5-- out of a total estimated to be between 82,000and 100,000 produced for industrial/commercial use. The EPA in partnership with the chemical industry only requires information on chemicals produced or imported in amounts greater than ONE MILLION pounds per year. However, the Chemical Council refuses to give any data on many of these high volume chemicals because they claim privileged or confidential commercial information or trade secrets. The American Academy of Pediatrics in conjunction with data from the NIH reported in Trends in Environmentally Related Childhood Illnesses that there were verifiable link to the concentrations of contaminants in the bodies of the children and their mothers with childhood asthma, ADHD, mental retardation, and childhood cancer. Dr. Tyrone Hayes at UC-Berkeley in his monograph; Pesticide Mixtures, Endocrine Disruption, and Amphibian Declines: Are we Underestimating the Impact? He states that increasing evidence demonstrates that chemical environmental contaminants (including many pesticides) can act as endocrine disruptors in humans and wildlife. Not only did these tests show significant vulnerability to diseases, but slower growth, and the chemical soup often found in agricultural run-off can switch testosterone to estrogen which impacts both animal and humans exposed to the same chemical toxin mixand is concentrated in sewage sludge. US EPA Office of Science & Technology released a study that finds fecal coliform reactivates in dewatered sewage sludge after treatment (Usually Class Awhich is sold/given away as compost). The study tested seven wastewater treatment plants and four of the seven had significant re-growth of bacteria when the lab tests for bacterial count did not show fecal coliform or E. coli in cultures beyond the acceptable level. However, when the sludge was placed on trucks to be delivered to farms for application, the sludge had -re-growth of bacteria to explosive rates of contamination and the bacteria doubled each 30 minutes. The sites exhibiting explosive re-growth of bacteria could mean that sludge leaving the WWTP could pass laboratory tests and show minimal contamination and become toxic bacterial sludge (Biohazard Level III or IV) by the time it reaches the farm. This study uncovers the problem that bacteria in sludge may be viable but non culturable after all current treatment methods. Now for the truly tragic environmental contamination consequences: 2

The CDC reports that one in 71 US male children born today will have a form of autism. The CDC also reports that one in 6 children born in the US will have a developmental disorder which includes retardation, ADHD, cognitive deficits, emotional disorders, physical deformities, etc. Duke University recently published a four year study of seven NC counties comparing the End of Grade scores of all fourth grade students with each childs lead blood levels. The study establishes a concrete link between blood lead levels and a childs IQ/EOG test scores regardless of socioeconomic status, race or whether the child lives in a rural or urban area. The decrease of scores was detected at one-fourth (2.5) the CDC acceptable blood lead level of 10. The Secret History War on Cancer by Devra Davis, PhD, MPH; Director, Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health Pg. 430: It may shock you to learn that the 100,000 chemical that are commonly used in commerce, most have not been studied as to their ability to affect our health. In 1983 and again in 1998, the National Academy of Sciences confirmed that we have no public record of the toxicity of three out of every four of the top *3,000 chemicals in use today. Despite declarations by industry of their intent to close this gap, in reality it would take dozens of years and billions of dollars to do so. It can take three weeks for EPA to approve a new chemical for use and thirty years to remove an old one. MILKEN INSTITUTE, Santa Monica, CA: Report released October 2007 on Cost of Common Chronic Health Conditions in the US and Related Economic Impacts: More than half of Americans suffer from chronic disease, including cancer, hypertension, mental disorders, heart disease, diabetes, stroke and pulmonary conditions such as asthma. The number of cases diagnosed in these seven categories is expected to increase by 42% by 2022. Dr. Richard Carmona, former U.S. Surgeon General and now chairman of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Diseases commented on the Milken Report that the disease burden is mounting, the economic burden is mounting, and the trajectory were on is unsustainable. If the US does nothing to address the environmental exposures, and citizens do not institute healthier lifestyles; the total costs for the seven illnesses listed above is projected to rise to $4.2 Trillion dollars by 2022 and to $ 6 Trillion by 2050. Dr. Ken Thorpe, Executive Director of Partnership to Fight Chronic Diseases and a professor at Emory University says the country needs to shift its focus from trying to reduce health expenses to reducing the cause and rates of chronic illnesses. We must ask ourselves: If one in 6 children born today have a type of neurodevelopment or physical disorder, what can we expect in future generations if we allow the ongoing pollution of our food, land, air, water and its impact to human? Can we bear the economic burden? Who will be our scientists, doctors or farmers then? If scientists now estimate that 75-95% of these chronic illnesses are caused or severely impacted by environmental toxic pollutants, are we listening? Do we care enough to work toward a safer environment, reduce the number and levels of toxic chemicals and metals in the food, water and air? Do we care enough to look for alternatives and implement change? The cost of change to protect human health vs. the cost of chronic illnesses is a bargain for the US! We can change our policies and implement a version of the EUs REACH program that requires the chemical industry to PROVE safety before commercial use in all European Union countries. Or, will we allow our children and grand childrens future to be stolen? Nancy Holt Carolina Concerned Citizens 919-563-3670 Fg325@aol.com