The Sierra Club issued a report on May 25th titled “SLUDGE IN THE GARDEN: Toxic PFAS in Home Fertilizers Made from Sewage Sludge” about a study done in conjunction with the Ecology Center of Michigan. For the report, the Sierra Club purchased 9 biosolids-based soil amendments and fertilizers and tested them for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The products purchased included D.C. Water’s BLOOM, Tacoma, Washington’s TAGRO, and Earthlife which contains biosolids from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority.

NEBRA Members: watch for the July Research Abstracts which will respond to the Sierra Club report with a “PFAS Reality Check”.

The results were not surprising to the North East Biosolids & Residuals Association (NEBRA) which has been tracking this issue for years. Although there are questions about the PFAS sampling protocols used, the results are similar to what has been found in previous studies such as the one done by Rooney Kim Lazcano, etal. (Characterizing and Comparing Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Commercially Available Biosolid and Organic Non-Biosolid-Based Products | Environmental Science & Technology (acs.org)). The Sierra Club report found that 8 of the 9 products tested exceeded Maine’s screening standards for PFAS. The Ecology Center tested for 33 PFAS and found 24 of them, ranging from 38 to 233 parts per billion (ppb). They found between 14 and 20 PFAS in every product.

The Mid-Atlantic Biosolids Association has posted a summary of the Sierra Club report and key message points to use in a conversation about this article. The report cites the unscientific Office of the Inspector General report from which has been rebutted by the W4170 research committee. The report recommends that home gardeners not purchase these products to use in fruit and vegetable beds and urges states not to wait for EPA to take action. It discusses the biosolids management programs and regulations in Maine and Michigan in particular. The report also states that “Massachusetts has the long-term goal of “virtually eliminating” PFAS in biosolids but has not set a screening limit or management plan to achieve this goal.”

Despite some issues with the report, NEBRA agreed with the main recommendation to limit PFAS production and use which will reduce what ends up in the solids. And at least the Sierra Club report acknowledged that “When it comes to highly persistent chemicals in biosolids, such as PFAS, each of the current alternative disposal options will not fully destroy or contain chemical contaminants in sewage wastes” and that “For the large-scale problem of disposing of sewage waste, however, simple solutions are elusive.”

Additional recommendations from the report include:

States should regulate PFAS in their Clean Water Act rules;
The chemical industry must stop releasing PFAS into air, wastewater, surface water, and as solid wastes.
Wastewater treatment plants must investigate sources of PFAS discharged into their systems and intervene to capture PFAS before it enters the system.
Agricultural producers should not apply biosolids to their crop and pasture lands.
Home and community gardens should check the “Guaranteed Analysis” label of fertilizers to ensure products are not made from biosolids.
Companies making biosolids into home-use fertilizers should more clearly disclose the presence of potentially harmful chemicals in their products and modify labels to direct these to be used only on lawns, ornamental plants and other non-food uses.

NEBRA provided statements to several news outlets to ensure its members perspectives were considered including E&E News [PUBLIC HEALTH: PFAS found in widely used home garden fertilizers -- Tuesday, May 25, 2021 -- www.eenews.net] and Maine television news [PFAS chemicals found in some garden fertilizers sold in Maine | newscentermaine.com]. NEBRA is working with the Water Environment Federation and others on additional responses to the report.