EPA: Chemicals in sewage sludge fertilizer are causing cancer–here's who is most at risk
FILE-Cilantro grows on farmland near SLO Regional Airport that has been irrigated with well water contaminated with high levels of PFAS chemicals from firefighting foam that for years was used in training exercises at the airport on Wednesday, Aug. 2
Chemicals in sewage sludge that is spread on pasture land as fertilizer are causing cancer, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Who is most at risk?
Why you should care:
Individuals at the most risk are those who drink one quart of milk daily from dairy cows raised on pasture with the biosolids, eat one or two servings of fish a week from a lake contaminated by runoff, or drink PFAS-laden water, according the EPA draft risk assessment. The Associated Press noted that EPA officials assessed farmers and those living nearby who regularly consumed these products over years — not the public.
When people eat or drink foods containing these "forever" chemicals, the compounds accumulate in the body and can cause kidney, prostate, and testicular cancer. They also harm the immune system and childhood development.
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Cities and towns treat sewage, and they divide the liquids from the solids and treat the liquid. The Associated Press reported that solids must be disposed of and can produce a sludge that is distributed on farm fields.
According to the EPA, those solids often contain toxic, lasting PFAS substances that treatment plants cannot remove.
Experts weigh in
What they're saying:
"This draft assessment provides important information to help inform future actions by federal and state agencies as well as steps that wastewater systems, farmers and other stakeholders can take to protect people from PFAS exposure, while ensuring American industry keeps feeding and fueling our nation," EPA Acting Administrator Jane Nishida said in a statement, obtained by the Associated Press.
Scott Faber, senior vice president of government affairs at the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, said the EPA assessment finally makes official what regulators, polluters and utility operators have known for decades.
RELATED: PFAS and cancer: The truth behind 'forever chemicals'
"There is no doubt that sending PFAS waste to wastewater treatment plants and then using that sludge as a fertilizer was a mistake. The only question is whether we’ll continue to make the same mistake," Faber said.
What is PFAS?
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as (PFAS) are a large, complex group of synthetic chemicals that have been used in consumer products around the world since about the 1950s. They are ingredients in various everyday products, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
PFAS chemicals are used in nonstick pans, firefighting foam, and other products in wide use. The two most common types of PFAS, the ones assessed by the agency, are not manufactured in the U.S. anymore, but are still in the environment and wastewater. Paper and textile manufacturers have released PFAS into the environment.
Can the federal government regulate harmful substances?
The federal government does have the power to regulate harmful substances in sewage sludge, but it does not regulate PFAS.
According to the Associated Press, the Biden administration has taken steps to reduce PFAS levels in the environment, including writing a rule to reduce PFAS in drinking water.
Several states, including Maine and Connecticut have limited or banned the use of PFAS-contaminated fertilizers made from sewage.