The E.P.A. Promoted Toxic Fertilizer for Decades

Farm field with crops fertilized by sewage sludge, wastewater treatment plant in the background, warning sign about PFAS contamination.

For decades, the Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.) has encouraged the use of sewage sludge as fertilizer, a practice marketed as sustainable waste management. However, evidence reveals that this sludge, often laden with toxic PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” contaminates farmland, food, and water sources nationwide. The origin of these chemicals, their risks, and the … Read more

Toxic Sludge Threats America’s Food Chain

A large pile of food covered in toxic sludge, with a mixture of spoiled fruits, vegetables, and meat symbolizing food contamination.

An unsettling revelation is shaking the foundations of American agriculture. For decades, a government-endorsed fertilizer has quietly poisoned farmlands with hazardous chemicals, threatening both farmers and the broader food chain. A new investigation has uncovered that municipal sewage, commonly referred to as “black sludge” and widely used as fertilizer, contains dangerous levels of PFAS, a … Read more

Regulators Allowing PFAS Tainted Sludge to Poison Water

Overhead view of farmland with a silhouette of a dumping container spilling a dark substance, and text 'WHY ALLOW THIS?' questioning the spreading of contaminated sewage sludge.

Across the United States, a quiet crisis is unfolding on farmlands, involving an unassuming but potentially devastating substance: sewage sludge. Used as fertilizer, this byproduct of water treatment processes contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), leading to widespread contamination that endangers public health, agriculture, and the environment. The Spread of Contaminated Sludge In an alarming … Read more