{"id":7226,"date":"2024-08-15T15:33:03","date_gmt":"2024-08-15T20:33:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ariescleantech.com\/?p=7226"},"modified":"2024-08-15T15:31:48","modified_gmt":"2024-08-15T20:31:48","slug":"pfas-contaminated-sewage-sludge-is-spreading-across-tennessee-lands-the-state-might-intervene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ariescleantech.com\/pfas-contaminated-sewage-sludge-is-spreading-across-tennessee-lands-the-state-might-intervene\/","title":{"rendered":"PFAS-Contaminated Sewage Sludge is Spreading Across Tennessee Lands. The State Might Intervene."},"content":{"rendered":"

By Caroline Eggers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Farmers, landowners and government agencies have been using treated sewage to fertilize land in Tennessee for decades, but the practice is being increasingly scrutinized: Sewage sludge can be contaminated with toxic chemical compounds known as PFAS.<\/p>\n

The latest evidence comes from northeastern Tennessee.<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier this year, the Sierra Club tested soil, groundwater and drinking water in Sullivan County near historic or current usage sites of sewage sludge, also called \u201cbiosolids,\u201d and found\u00a0PFAS\u00a0<\/a>at each location, according to a new report.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a complicated problem,\u201d said Dan Firth, a waste expert for the Sierra Club\u2019s Tennessee Chapter and author of the\u00a0report<\/a>. \u201cAn immediate thing we can do is stop applying the biosolids now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

How sewage can lead to PFAS-contaminated drinking water<\/strong><\/h3>\n

After sewage or industrial discharge swirls down pipes, it ends up in wastewater treatment plants. These plants will treat the waste, and the solid leftovers may be turned into biosolids and distributed as fertilizers. Many farmers and landowners spread this product across their fields: In the U.S., about\u00a060%<\/a>\u00a0of biosolids are used on land as fertilizers.<\/p>\n

Facilities test for pathogens and heavy metals, like lead, but most states do not test sludge for PFAS, which can come from industrial waste or even\u00a0toilet paper<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When landowners spread sludge, PFAS can wash off fields into nearby rivers, leach into the groundwater, be absorbed by plants and pollute local drinking water.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we\u2019re continuing to apply these contaminated biosolids to the land, we\u2019re putting our water resources at risk in addition to the land,\u201d Firth said.\u00a0 \u201cPFAS flows into the water.\u201d<\/p>\n

And these pollutants can contaminate resources far from the original application sites.<\/p>\n

PFAS are linked to cancer, reproductive issues<\/strong><\/h3>\n

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of about 15,000 synthetic chemical compounds placed in numerous industrial and consumer products, ranging from dental floss and lipstick to ink and waterproof apparel. The compounds do not break down or degrade once present in the environment, accumulating in soil, water, animals and people. PFAS, often nicknamed \u201cforever chemicals,\u201d are linked to many health problems, including some cancers and reproductive issues.<\/p>\n

The Sierra Club collected soil and water samples in Sullivan County from a field where sludge was applied historically, a field adjacent to a field where sludge is currently being applied, and a drinking water well near fields where sludge is applied. The wastewater treatment plant in Bristol, Tenn. and Bristol, Va. produces sludge with local sewage and\u00a0discharges from two local landfills, and this sludge is being spread in eastern Sullivan County.<\/p>\n

PFAS were detected at each site tested, according to the report.<\/p>\n

But this is just one example.<\/p>\n

\u201cBiosolids are being applied across the state,\u201d Firth said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n
Courtesy Sierra Club<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The map reflects locations where \u201cClass B\u201d biosolids are applied to farms and open lands in Tennessee. \u201cClass A\u201d biosolids can be applied anywhere and are not tracked.<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

Locally, Metro Water Services in Nashville manufactures a fertilizer called \u201cMusic City Gold\u201d from its wastewater treatment plant. In 2022, the Sierra Club\u00a0detected PFAS<\/a>\u00a0in this product, which meets EPA\u2019s current requirements for a \u201cClass A\u201d biosolid and is being sold as a home fertilizer to Nashville residents. (Only \u201cClass B\u201d biosolid use is tracked.)<\/p>\n

PFAS levels in Tennessee may be higher than early tests show<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This type of testing only reveals part of the problem. Typical testing methods scan for 40 PFAS compounds, Firth said, among the now-estimated 15,000 compounds. To fill in some gaps in the latest round of sampling, the Sierra Club examined the total organic fluorine to better reflect total PFAS levels.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy comparing the fluorine that arises from the measured PFAS compounds and comparing it to the total, we get an idea of how much PFAS we are not measuring,\u201d Firth said.<\/p>\n

The fluorine analysis indicated that the untargeted PFAS compounds are potentially hundreds to thousands of times higher than the detected concentrations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do know that they are there and that many of them will break down into toxic compounds and leach into the soil, the groundwater and surface waters,\u201d Firth added.<\/p>\n

Some states are banning biosolid use on land<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Maine\u00a0banned<\/a>\u00a0sewage sludge as a fertilizer in 2022, citing PFAS concerns. Connecticut became the second state to do so this year with\u00a0legislation\u00a0<\/a>that also phases out products with \u201cintentionally added\u201d PFAS, like firefighting gear and menstruation products.<\/p>\n

Maine is the only state that has systematically tested farmland for PFAS, which samples show has contaminated more than 70 farms and disrupted people\u2019s livelihoods \u2014 sometimes from sludge that was spread\u00a0decades earlier<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Firth said companies need to stop using PFAS, but, until then, Tennessee should also ban sewage sludge as a fertilizer.<\/p>\n

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is holding a\u00a0public hearing<\/a>\u00a0on Sept. 5 at 1 p.m. to discuss the permit that authorizes land application of biosolids. Any member of the public can email written comments to John Newberry at\u00a0john.newberry@tn.gov<\/a>\u00a0until Sept. 20.<\/p>\n

Original Link: https:\/\/wpln.org\/post\/pfas-contaminated-sewage-sludge-is-spreading-across-tennessee-lands-the-state-might-intervene\/\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Caroline Eggers Farmers, landowners and government agencies have been using treated sewage to fertilize…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media-coverage"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ariescleantech.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ariescleantech.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ariescleantech.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ariescleantech.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ariescleantech.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7226"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/ariescleantech.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8164,"href":"https:\/\/ariescleantech.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7226\/revisions\/8164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ariescleantech.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ariescleantech.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ariescleantech.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}