A report by Sierra Club Tennessee highlighted the concerning rates of toxic forever chemicals in processed sludge that could be leaching into the area's crops and drinking water.
What's happening?
A startling report by The New York Times on Aug. 31 unveiled an unsettlingly pervasive problem of toxic sludge affecting America's food supply across multiple states, but that was not the first time such concerns have made headlines.
One case the Times did not touch on is in Tennessee, where the state's Sierra Club said a Bristol wastewater treatment plant had produced sludge with "among the highest levels of so-called forever chemical contamination detected in the U.S.," as the Tennessee Lookout reported. In Sullivan County, farms use the sludge as fertilizer to grow a $68 million industry.
Forever chemicals, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, do not break down in the environment and have been linked to severe health problems. They are used to make nonstick cookware, waterproof clothing, food packaging, and many more products.
In short, forever chemicals are ubiquitous, and only in recent years have some companies begun to back away from using them.
"As we continue to add PFAS to the environment, we don't know what their impact will be," Dan Firth of the Sierra Club, a co-author of the report, told the Lookout. "But if we wait before we start looking at them, it's going to be too late."
Why is this important?
As the Lookout noted, farms elsewhere have been closed because of extreme levels of PFAS in fertilizers.
The Sierra Club report said that when the sludge is spread on fields, it is absorbed into plants or washes into rivers or wells, contaminating the food supply or drinking water. A previous report by the group noted PFAS were found in 60% of rivers and lakes tested in Northeast Tennessee.
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The rates of PFAS detected in the sludge were 83,000 times higher than those of the water. Forever chemicals have been linked to fertility and developmental issues, cancer, disease, and death.
The Lookout reported that wastewater treatment plants are not required to monitor for PFAS by the state or federal government. It is thought the chemicals could have come from two landfills, which send their runoff to the plant.
And while this Sierra Club report is focused on Tennessee, the state's crops and meat can end up anywhere in the country, and as the Times reported, many farms in other states have been using similar municipal fecal wastewater fertilization practices.
What's being done about forever chemicals?
Reporting on the issue is essential to raise awareness and educate the public about the threat of PFAS contamination.
A bill for large wastewater treatment plants to monitor for PFAS and identify sources of contamination is working its way through the Tennessee General Assembly, and the state Department of Environment and Conservation has been investigating PFAS since 2021.
"Tennessee must urgently investigate and control PFAS pollution, or it will pay a steep price in future contamination of food and water, and harmful exposures for state residents," Sierra Club Tennessee wrote.
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