To the editor:
Re: Article on using septic sludge for fertilizer
Where does the nasty stuff you put down the drain go? To the septic tank. This includes toxic cleaning chemicals, drugs, heavy metals, God knows what all. If we use that for fertilizer, we poison the soil and recycle those chemicals into our food. Maybe not such a good idea. See: https://civileats.com/2020/01/30/questions-remain-about-using-treated-sewage-on-farms/. Find therein:
The use of biosolids in agriculture is increasingly coming under fire as a potential health and environmental threat, however. While some see it as an effective way to close the loop on recycling waste, some scientists, health professionals, and advocates say using biosolids in agriculture is poisoning the nation’s farmland and compounding a number of health risks. Advocates argue that without stronger, comprehensive regulations that cover what types of waste can be used in biosolids—and what waste industries are allowed to send into public sewer systems—the nation is taking unknown risks with its food and water supplies, not to mention the health of farmers and people living in farm communities.
The Sierra Club Washington’s Darlene Schanfald calls biosolids a “witch’s brew” of toxic substances.
“It can contain up to 90,000 man-made chemicals and we don’t even know what new chemicals are made synergistically by combining them,” she told Civil Eats. “No one can say if [biosolids are] safe.”
In closing, let’s DON’T do that. That’s just poisoning the soil for future generations.
From that Sandy ridge in Meigs County,
Paul Schmittauer
Albany, OH
