one of the most shocking things i've been hearing this week is about the use of toxic sludge (sewage, chemical waste, pharmaceutical waste, etc) as fertilizer and in low-income neighborhoods. since the outlawing of dumping waste into the ocean in 1992, it seems that the new solution is to dump the wastes elsewhere, and someone thought that dumping it onto our crops seemed like a good idea.
Toxic Sludge Being Marketed as Fertilizer Utilizing Low-Income Americans as Guinea Pigs - this shocking article is from early 2008 and covers the controversial "study" of whether using toxic sludge on lawns with high lead prevents lead poisoning in children when eaten.
"The idea that sludge - the leftover semisolid wastes filtered from water pollution at 16,500 treatment plants - can be turned into something harmless, even if swallowed, has been a tenet of federal policy for three decades."
Sludge Spread on Fields is Fodder for Lawsuits - an article from 2003 about the use of toxic sludge in fields and the harm it has done to people and animals alike.
"One Georgia farmer, H. J. Peterson of Stockbridge, sued DeKalb County in 1995, saying 61 of his cows died after eating hay grown using sludge"
Infidels? no shit! - a first hand account on Carol Langley's experience living beside toxic sludge.
"now I'm getting ready for the nosebleeds to start, the headaches are starting, II'm hoping I don't get paralysis and chest pains like last year."
Tell the "World's Greenest Mayor" to Stop Poisoning His City with Toxic Sludge - article on the use of toxic sludge in San Francisco as well as the rest of the US, and includes links to take action on this subject.
EPA Requests Feedback on Plan Analyzing Impact of Hazardous Waste on Disadvantaged Communities - a slightly more hopeful article from January 2010 on what the EPA is looking to do to fix the problem of toxic dumping on low income families.
Sludge News
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