Sludge Watch ==> Pennsylvania - Sludge Makes Fields Toxic

[Maureen Reilly]

 Letter to the Editior 6/18/06 Reading Eagle, Reading, Pennsylvania

http://www.readingeagle.com/blog/letters/index.html


Sludge makes fields toxic
Editor:

Thank you for keeping the public informed about the disposal of sewage sludge on farmland ("Local unease over sludge fuels debate," Reading Eagle, June 7).

Sludge is the concentration of everything that goes into a sewer system, including sewage from hospitals and industry. Putting sludge on farm fields turns them into toxic sites through the accumulation of heavy metals, dioxins, radioactive substances, phylates, pharmaceuticals, viruses, bacteria and other substances.

Federal and state regulations do not protect the environment or health of humans. Permitted by regulation are 264 pounds of lead per acre.

These toxic substances not only adversely impact the soil but also travel off sludge sites through air and water. Studies show that viruses can be airborne at least a quarter mile from the sludge site.

Since there is a lot of sludge in the Maidencreek watershed, sludge pollutants could end up in Reading's drinking water.

For those of us forced to endure noxious odors, reduced quality of life and health concerns from nearby sludge, insult is added to injury when farmers are paid $2,000 an acre for farmland preservation for land on which they use sludge.

Susan Ensinger
Greenwich Township

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