We must protect our children from contaminated air, food and water. Without them, there is no future.

Stop Recycling Sewage Effluents on Food Crops, Etc.

Target:

President Obama, EPA, USDA, FDA

Sponsored by:

bynjam@aol.com
Click on bold highlighted words for more information.

Help for Sewage Victims was founded by farmers almost 20 years ago to gather factual data on EPA's sewage sludge disposal policy. It has found: 1) Sewage pollutants may be implicated in the 15 leading causes of deaths; and 2) New food protection laws can not alleviate foodborne illnesses or other infectious diseases caused by the use of sewage effluents (sludge and water) on agricultural land. Congress made it very clear in 1976 that infectious characteristics of waste which may--
(A) cause, or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness; or
(B) pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, or disposed of, or otherwise managed is a hazardous waste.

Yet, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), chaired by Senator Barbara Boxer abruptly cancelled scheduled Hearings on sludge contamination problems September 11, 2008. The government stopped counting foodborne illnesses after the total reached 81 million case (GAO)in 1997. That was up from 2 million foodborne illnesses in 1986. In 1998 CDC estimated there were 360 million cases of acute diarrhea, most from unknown sources. The most serious documented illness increase was for MRSA hospital stays, 368,300 in 2005 with 19,000 deaths. That was up from 1,900 hospital stays in 1993 when EPA and its partners started promoting the disposal of pathogen contaminated sewage effluents as organic fertilizer on agricultural land, parks, school grounds as well as home lawns and gardens.

Since 1980, EPA, USDA and FDA have promoted a national federal policy to disposed of the chemical and antibiotic resistant disease ladened contaminated sewage effluent (sludge) as a fertilizer and semi-treated sewage effluent as reclaimed water for irrigation. The orginal policy was based on the consensus that "there are not many people out there to be harmed." Current sewage treatment policies do not require testing for or the removal of all pathogens. The results of EPA's 1993 policy (40 CFR 503 ) to dispose of contaminated sewage effluents on cattle pastureland, land used for food crops, forest land, parks, school grounds, as well as home lawns and gardens have been a dramatic increase in "food" contamination incidents and illnesses such as MRSA with associated deaths as well as other pandemics. This Agency policy is in direct conflict with the laws of our land enacted to protect public health and the environment.

Recycling sewage effluents under the current policies places the national economy and public health at risk from pathogen contaminated food, water and air. The fate of public health and the economy is based on the renamed hundred and five year old Eijkman (fecal coliform) test procedure for one type of gram negative thermotolerant E. coli. The test does not reveal E. coli 0157 which does not ferment lactose. Most other enteric gram negative soil, water, and fecal disease causing bacteria (coliform - Salmonella, Shigella, etc.) in humans become dormant at the elevated fecal coliform test temperature. EPA does not require testing for any other pathogens (bacteria - viruses - fungus - parasites - worms) in sewage effluent, food or water.

EPA acknowledges in Part 503.9(t) that other inorganic, synthetic organic and volatile organic compounds in sewage effluents could also cause death, cancer, disease etc. upon exposure through the air, food or water. However, they do not cause pandemics. These chemicals may take up to 20 years or longer to cause illness and death.

For these reasons, recycling sewage effluents on food crops, etc., especially when they are labeled organic soil amendments must be stopped.

More information can be found at:
http://thewatchers.us/
http://deadlydeceit.com/
http://sludgevictims.com/
http://list.web.net/lists/listinfo/sludgewatch-l
http://www.sludgefacts.org/IJOEH_1104_Snyder.pdf
http://sludgefacts.org/
http://sludgenews.org/
http://www.prwatch.org/tsigfy.html
http://cwmi.css.cornell.edu/Sludge/Newsolutions.pdf
http://cwmi.css.cornell.edu/Sludge/incidents.htm
http://sewagesludgeactionnetwork.com/
http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/sewage_slu.cfm
http://www.organicconsumers.org/sludge.cfm
http://www.loudounnats.org/
http://www.iatp.org/foodandhealth/issues_toxicsludge.cfm
http://www.ejnet.org/sludge/
http://www.olympus.net/community/oec/sldgbl.htm
http://www.something-stinks.com/
http://www.usludgefree.org/index.htm

We the undersigned request an immediate halt to the national EPA Agency policy of disposing sewage effluents (i.e. sludge and reclaimed water) as beneficial use on pasture land, land used to grow food crops, forest land, parks, school grounds, as well as home lawns and gardens. This was an arbitrary policy based EPA's conclusion (1981) that "Land spreading of urban sewage sludge is probably the most practical means of disposal."

We feel that you and the new Agency leaders should be made aware of
the result of this policy which has led to the current public outcry for new food safety laws to protect our food supply. New laws will not effect or solve the problem as long as the victims (i.e. farmers, packing houses, food processors, wholesalers and retailers) are blamed for infections and deaths caused by the 30 year old EPA policy.

Government documents show foodborne illnesses have increased from two million (EPA) cases in 1986 to 81 million (GAO) cases in 1997. That number was revised to 76 million (CDC) in 1999.

What is even more disturbing is the hospital stays with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections increased from virtually zero in 1985, to 1,900 cases in 1993, to 368,300 cases in 2005. About 19,000 people died from this flesh eating bacteria. Many more bacteria have now picked up the flesh eating gene.

Background
Acting on the 1981 conclusion that land spreading of disease contaminated sludge was the most practial means of disposal placed the EPA policy in direct conflict with the environmental laws designed to protect human health and the environment from concentrations of chemical, or infectious agents that may--(A) cause, or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness; or (B) pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, or disposed of, or otherwise managed.

Between 1973 and 1988 EPA documented that treatment processes only reduce some disease organisms for a short period of time at best. In 1982 EPA's own Mark Meakes documented that antibiotic resistant bacteria were being created and released from sewage treatment plants.
Several more recent studies have documented this phenomenon.

When EPA released its policy as 40 CFR 257 et.al. (Part 503) regulation in 1993 it acknowledged EPA did not have the data needed to assure the public sludge use was safe. In fact, in 503.9(t) EPA warned that exposure to the pollutants in sludge (chemical, heavy metals and disease agents could cause death, disease, cancer, etc. Moreover, in 1995, EPA acknowledged that chemicals and disease causing organisms were not included in the risk assessment. Furthermore, it did not consider any of the documented cancer causing heavy metals to be carcinogens in sludge.

By law, sludge is a solid waste which must be placed in a permitted sanitary landfill to protect the public and environment. The national EPA sludge policy regulation is based on exclusions in three environmental laws and mislead the public as to the true nature of its tests for disease causing organisms.

1. The first step came in 1980, "The Agency decided that growth of food-chain crops need not be banned at hazardous waste land treatment facilities but rather should be carefully regulated." By 1983, the EPA decided, "- to avoid conceivable stigmatization, we are willing to re-name recycled hazardous wastes "regulated recyclable materials." And, in 1985, the "regulated recyclable materials" title was shortened to "recyclable
material"." Not only that, but "---commercial hazardous waste derived fertilizers [which] would not have to undergo chemical bonding to be exempt." from the law.

2. EPA used the "domestic waste exclusion" for hazardous waste in the pipes between a home and the sewage treatment plant to claim that if domestic sewage entered the treatment plant, then it must be domestic sludge leaving the treatment plant regardless of the amount of industrial hazardous waste processed at the same time.

3. EPA surmised that if sludge was promoted as a fertilizer called biosolids, then it could be considered a "normal application of fertilizer" under the Superfund Act.

4. As a biosolids fertilizer disposed of on agricultual land, pollutants (i.e. chemicals and infectious disease causing organisms) polluting waters of the United States became a nonpoint source of pollution excluded from the Clean Water Act by the Agricultural Stromwater runoff exclusion.

5. EPA promoted the policy regulation Part 503 as a federal permit for the release of hazardous substances on land.

6. EPA has misled the public and Congress by claiming the fecal coliform test is only for disease causing indicator bacteria which assures the safety of sludge and the public. Actually, fecal coliform is the generic term for gram negative bacteria, primarily thermotolerant E. coli, that are still active enough to produce some gas and/or acid when incubated for 24-48 hours at 112.1 degF. after most other gram negative bacteria have gone dorment because of the high heat. E. coli grows best at 97 degF. where it may double every 20 minutes.

7. EPA claims that sludge is safe for direct contact if the fecal coliform number is 1,000 thermotolerant colony forming units (most probable number) per gram in the above test. While high heat has caused most E. coli to go dorment in the test, E. coli in the sludge has been doubling about every 20 minute. A second point is that the most probable number refers to count colonies of thermotolerant bacteria at the end of the test which assumes there was only one bacteria at the beginning of the test for each final colony.

8. EPA claims sludge with 2 million colony forming units of thermotolerant E. coli is safe for disposal on pasture land and food crops after a 30 day waiting period. However, EPA has documented that bacteria and viruses may persist in soil for up to a year. Bacteria on plants may persist up to six months.

Conclusion
We understand that in the Solid Waste law, Congress did order EPA to study "alternative methods for the use of sludge, including agricultural

applications of sludge and energy recovery from sludge. We also understand EPA was ordered to study "methods to reclaim areas which have been used for the disposal of sludge or which have been damaged by sludge."

To date, EPA has refused to study or acknowledge any complaint, health or environmental, that could negatively impact its sludge disposal policy.
In fact, According to the Inspector General (IG) 2002, "EPA officials said investigating health impacts from biosolids is not an EPA responsibility; rather, they believe it is the responsibility of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, the Centers for Disease Control, and local health departments." The IG also said, "we explained in our prior
report, that office (Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA)) has disinvested from the biosolids program."

Recycling disease causing organisms such as E. coli and Salmonella from humans through the sewage treatment plants, where more virulent strains of exotic bacteria are created, to animals grown on pasture land and food crops and back to humans is not a sustainable practice as we are now seeing with all the foodborne outbreaks and the associated cost to the economy.

The undersigned would like to thank you for you efforts to protect the public in the past and look forward to your consideration of this petition gratefully.

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We signed the "Stop Recycling Sewage Effluents on Food Crops, Etc." petition!

# 365:

9:05 am PST, Nov 21, Name not displayed, Michigan
Sludge can cause contamination of our food at its source.

# 364:

1:55 pm PST, Nov 18, Jon Corlett, Florida

# 363:

7:13 pm PST, Nov 12, Jonathan Maier, Pennsylvania
As an aspiring young farmer, it disappoints me that those that profit from sludge are conspiring with the government to destroy a people's food movement.

# 362:

5:06 pm PST, Nov 10, Name not displayed, Maryland
I am all for recycling, and am happy to sacrifice a couple of days imprisioned in my home to get relief from the 'sick' smell so as to not poision the watershed with other pesticides. But the smell is beyond any I have had to suffer. I have worked around sludge, and at one point lived close to a sewage treatment works, but they do not compare to the stench of this waste. What it is that that carries throught he air like this can not be safe, surely?

# 360:

8:06 am PST, Nov 3, BARBARA HAMM, Maryland

# 359:

9:29 am PST, Nov 2, Peter Davidson, Canada
The City of Cranbrook has sprinkled primary treated sewage effluent on land grazed and hayed by cattle for the past 25 years. They intend to release the overflow effluent into the Kootenay River. When the Minitry of Environment was asked whether aeration and primary setling pond would adequately treat cryptosporidia, Hepatitus A, B and C; MOE repied ther was no problems. What about heavy metal accumulations as well over time? The Ministry of Environment(MNOE) has not enforced the terms of the exising permit for at least 10 years according to testimony heard in the fall of 2008 and spring of 2009. Can the MOE staff be trusted? They have assured us that there is no impact on fish, yet the rancher whose land much of the overflow discharge Creek(Hillbar Creek) has pictures of hundreds of dead fish after discharge. My talks with a former employee of BC Environment indicate that the water which sits in the pipe during the winter before release in the spring is anoxic and could kill fish. The City of Cranbrook is proceeding with a permit to dump more overflow sewage into the Kootenay River-which flows into Idaho about 20 miles south. I am a retired wildlife/habitat biologist who is extemely concerned about sewage disposal practices in Cranbrook BC and feel that we need some technical from accredited scientists, not beaurocrats which can assuage my fears or present alternatives.

# 358:

7:28 am PST, Nov 1, Jamie Vermette, Canada

# 357:

8:54 pm PDT, Oct 31, Lori Cleland, Canada

# 356:

4:23 pm PDT, Oct 31, Donna Coffey, Maryland
I have always hated the smell when I drive by there to drop of my kids at friends houses. Now that I know what it is I am appauled. I am going to have to be more careful about the produce I buy. I doubt I will be buying local again.

# 355:

4:17 pm PDT, Oct 31, Patrick Coffey, Maryland
I tavel the road really early in the morning and I see the trucks there and I have always admired that they went to work so early, now that I know what they are doing, I am not as admorious. In fact I am discussed. I wish I knew where the produce is sold so I can avoid it.

# 354:

2:13 pm PDT, Oct 31, Lora Garver, Maryland

# 353:

9:45 am PDT, Oct 31, Rebecca Rigdon, Minnesota
It is disgusting to see how greed trumps common sense and safety. For years our city dumped and spread sludge much closer to our well than allowed. Why should we be powerless against this?!?

# 352:

6:48 pm PDT, Oct 30, Name not displayed, Maryland
I live in the Marston area and obtain my water from a well which could easily become contaminated from the leaching of these chemicals and pathogens into the ground water.

# 351:

5:33 am PDT, Oct 30, Shannon Crooker, Pennsylvania
Our health and livelihood is at stake here! Please stop spreading sludge on our food supply, we our at risk of losing our prime farmland and livestock. This is a complete disregard for the health of future generations! The science is out there, we know this is a harmful practice, yet we allow it happen!

# 350:

3:45 am PDT, Oct 30, Lauren Christiansen, Denmark

# 349:

9:57 pm PDT, Oct 27, Jim Roberts, Canada
In 2007 the city discharged thousands of gallons of sewage effluent over top our well. They fill dugouts and tanks for beef cattle to drink, with sewage effluent. They let the cattle graze underneath the sprinklers while in use. The cattle have to eat hay grown in sewage effluent for the remained of the year. These cattle enter our food chain!

# 348:

8:45 am PDT, Oct 26, Colleen Fitzgerald, Pennsylvania
The land application of sewage sludge is obscene.

# 347:

10:49 pm PDT, Oct 25, Mike Moskos, Florida
Living in the city and knowing what goes into our storm drains, I cannot imagine it being spread on farm fields. It might have worked in a by-gone era devoid of man made chemicals, oil, etc. with the sludge properly digested by bacteria, but not now.

# 346:

2:13 pm PDT, Oct 24, James Carole, Colorado

# 345:

10:14 am PDT, Oct 22, Rebecca Chandler, Maryland
I have been driving by charming New Windsor for nearly 4 years on my way to work and had wondered about the terrible, choking stench that enveloped the area (mostly at night). At first I had thought it was coming from a landfill or perhaps the huge cement factory in Union Bridge but was totally horrified to find out it was effluent! Like a previuos poster #340 I have habitually closed the windows to my car and hit recirculate because it was difficult, not to mention disgusting, to breathe this miasma. I would like to mention that I am nearly impervious to stench in general having worked in emergency departments for nearly 2 decades, so I have no "tender sensibilities" in that regard. New Windsor's stench is definitely more than malodorous, it is choking and poisonous.

# 344:

6:50 pm PDT, Oct 21, Silvia Hall, Florida

# 343:

7:22 am PDT, Oct 21, Marcia Long, Pennsylvania

# 342:

3:43 pm PDT, Oct 18, Channon Oglesby, Maryland
Because I live in New Windsor!! where this is and its ticking me off!!!!

# 341:

6:32 pm PDT, Oct 16, Name not displayed, Maryland

# 340:

5:09 pm PDT, Oct 15, Name not displayed, Maryland
The stench from the dumpsters I drive past in Marston, MD, is so horrific, I remember to push the ventilation button in my vehicle so no outside air comes in. Now I find out it is discarded biological material. It is obviously unhealthy to breathe. Since that stuff has been put there, I am sure it has devalued the nearby properties and sickened the residents. Apparently it is used to "fertilize" crops. I would not knowinly eat or drink anything that is near that stuff. It needs to be disposed of far away from our food and water supply.

# 338:

8:29 pm PDT, Oct 11, Name not displayed, California
Because I agree that the use of clearly contaminating coliform bacilli is detrimental to health, and that the USDA, FDA and EPA are mistaken (or intentionally deceptive) in advocating unhealthy practices that substantially endanger our citizens.

# 337:

4:56 pm PDT, Oct 11, Name not displayed, Maryland

# 336:

8:14 pm PDT, Oct 9, S Meyers, Maryland
I am a concerned citizen who lives near a farm that uses sewage on the fields.

# 335:

6:42 pm PDT, Oct 9, Jacklyn Gallihugh, Virginia
As an R.N. for the last 38 years, I increasingly recognize the effects of pollutants to the decline in the health as well as the premature death of many people. I do not feel that these effects are accurately noted in post mortems nor by physicians caring for patients with a variety of complaints and illnesses. Dr. Sherry Rogers is one of the only physicians that I respect for her knowledge and practice of environmental medicine. After living 32 places throughout military life, I have worked with a vast number of Doctors and Nurses none of whom reflected a knowledge of environmental cause and effect on the health or lack thereof with their patients. Sad,but true.

# 334:

12:59 pm PDT, Oct 9, Luanne Tignor, Virginia
It's pretty much a no-brainer . . . stop spreading the S._._.T. !!!

# 333:

7:55 pm PDT, Oct 5, Kathy Lorio, Maryland
I feel the people who own homes are now trapped in them. Who wants to buy a home with 24 hour nose burning smell all day all night .There is no down time from this smell. Here in New Windsor the trucks drive through town past my house and the smell hangs in the air all afternoon, it is really bad. You have to live here to know how bad it can get with just the trucks going through town, let alone live next to it!

# 332:

11:35 am PDT, Oct 5, Amber Carwile, Virginia
please stop the sludge!

# 331:

8:45 am PDT, Oct 5, Mary Carwile, Virginia
This petitiion is important to me because my mom, daughter and myself have been affected by the land applications of sludge! Like us, many of our neighbors have been made ill as well. There seems to be no stopping these applications. We have appealed to all agencies involved, right on up to the Governor of Virginia ( Mark Warner and Tim Kaine)with absolutely no help! Fight for all your worth to get these applications stopped near you because none of us know who will be the next victim!

# 330:

6:59 pm PDT, Oct 2, Name not displayed, Connecticut

# 329:

3:28 pm PDT, Sep 28, Name not displayed, Maryland
I drive thru this town everyday on my way to work and have always felt sorry for the poeple who live in that area. I dont know how they and there children deal with it. I live in New Windsor and can catch the smell everynow and then. The Carroll County Government should step up and do somthing about this.

# 328:

1:56 pm PDT, Sep 28, Barbara Witlin, Florida
please protect our farmers and our food supply. Ban the use of sewage sludge.

# 327:

8:09 am PDT, Sep 26, Name not displayed, Maryland
the stink is unbearable, who knows how many health problems it is contributing to, and why is this kind of operation allowed to be run on ag preserved land? They seem to have the Union Bridge and New Windsor areas surrounded. My land connects to a farm in Union Bridge where they pay the farmer and spread the waste for him in order to get rid of it. Why should my family be subjected to this danger.

# 326:

2:05 pm PDT, Sep 25, Name not displayed, Maryland

# 325:

5:05 pm PDT, Sep 23, Patricia Rosenberg, Maryland
We are poisoning ourselves and our children's food. This has to be addressed sooner rather than later. Sewage cannot be apart of our food cycle. Please help us stop this practice of sewage on our food crops. And one last point...ew.

# 324:

11:05 am PDT, Sep 22, Pam McGregor, Ohio

# 323:

9:22 pm PDT, Sep 20, Doris Telles, California

# 322:

3:22 pm PDT, Sep 19, Janice Sturdy, United Kingdom

# 321:

3:54 pm PDT, Sep 17, ANTHONY WOODIE, Maryland

# 320:

6:16 pm PDT, Sep 16, JoAnne Bell, Colorado

# 319:

9:46 am PDT, Sep 16, Susan Godden, Maryland
Our home is situated between cow and horse farms as well as acres of various crops. Sometimes the smell is over-whelming (!), but it's also part of living in the country. I just hope the fertilizer used in the fields is not harmful to my family!

# 318:

3:24 am PDT, Sep 16, Amy Bevard, Maryland
I am a resident of Carroll County. MD and the smell when driving through Marston region is UNBEARABLE! It can't be good for our produce. New no sense laws for everything but this. Go figure.

# 317:

7:32 pm PDT, Sep 15, Name not displayed, Canada

# 316:

4:18 am PDT, Sep 15, Christopher Merson, Maryland
My daughter is 2 years old and her quality of life is of utmost importance to me. I live in a rural setting with farms all around and I just want to be sure that what goes on there is both safe and healthy for me and my family.

# 315:

12:03 pm PDT, Sep 14, Rick Brill, Pennsylvania

# 314:

11:46 am PDT, Sep 14, Ruby Ifkowitz, Pennsylvania

# 313:

10:14 am PDT, Sep 14, D Czarnecki, Pennsylvania

# 312:

8:51 am PDT, Sep 14, Name not displayed, Pennsylvania
Hazard to human health, what more can I say.

# 310:

6:25 am PDT, Sep 13, Robert DeLay, Michigan

# 309:

4:50 pm PDT, Sep 12, L. Reilly, Massachusetts
Any water used for food production should be pure. I know the California area has a water problem, but can't other solutions be explored??

# 308:

1:43 pm PDT, Sep 11, Sara Lawrence, Maryland

# 307:

10:46 am PDT, Sep 11, Zachary Williams, Oregon
As a Chef and local food lover, I am firstly concerned that regulatory laws aimed at large producers, specifically in the leafy green sector, might adversely affect the small producers here in the Portland region. Secondly, the fact that the source of the contamination scares may in fact be badly treated water for irrigation, and not a breach in security or the laxness of an employee is appalling....it seems prety obvious to me that if we are going for food safety, that food competence and understanding of all the controllable inputs might be the first thing worth investigating. Please don't water my crops with sewage.

# 306:

8:12 am PDT, Sep 11, Catherine Romer, Maryland
When living out in the country you expect certain smells to be smelled....but this takes it to a whole different level. I have to drive by this one farm every day to and from work. I feel like I am going to throw up every time I drive by. What is even worse is that I live about a mile or two from it and with my windows open my entire house will fill up with this disgusting smell! Please stop this!

# 305:

1:50 pm PDT, Sep 10, Richard Ousley, Maryland
There are various toxic substances and pathogenic bacteria in sluge. The impact of accumualted combinations could be disasterous! I certinly don't want farmers using sluge that could run-off onto my property or impact the quality of my well water. I don't want to hurt their "right to farm" but they must use safe and responsible practices.

# 304:

1:31 pm PDT, Sep 10, Name not displayed, Maryland
Does anybody really, truly believe that using sludge as fertilizer is a good idea?

# 303:

6:27 pm PDT, Sep 9, Name not displayed, Maryland
We have a neighbor that is operating a commercial business on farm preserved land - this is not fair to the taxpayers. More than that, the constant overspreading of biosolids has been proven to be a health hazard in recent years. Why should we have to suffer the noxious odors and face the toxic/carcinogenic effects in future years.

# 302:

10:45 am PDT, Sep 9, J Patterson, Maryland
This is impotant because I work for a food bank and I have een first hand the esults of unsafe foo handling which is awful and expensive. The people pay the pricefor tese practices through increased medical expenses that are already the root cause of poverty and hunger in America.

# 301:

5:16 pm PDT, Sep 8, Benjamin Potter, Maryland

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