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SW: →NRDC Calls for Better Regulation of Sewage Sludge: add info
In the press release, [[Nancy Stoner]], director of NRDC's Clean Water Project is quoted as calling the EPA's policy of land application of sludge "not safe." Furthermore, the press release notes that "The NRC panel's report found that EPA's sludge regulations may fail to protect the public from infectious diseases as well as toxic chemicals that cause long-term debilitating illnesses, including cancer." It goes on to note other studies that point to hazards of land application of sewage sludge: "Two years ago, the Centers for Disease Control identified Class B sewage sludge as a potential hazard for workers handling the material. In 1997, the [[Cornell University Waste Management Institute]] warned that federal sludge regulations undermine agricultural productivity and fail to protect the environment and public health. Meanwhile, two EPA inspector general reports have concluded that the agency cannot guarantee that land application protects human health and the environment because there is not enough data or enforcement."
NRDC followed up in 2003 with a press release critiquing the EPA for failing to regulate cancer-causing [[dioxins]] in sewage sludge:
:"The Environmental Protection Agency today announced it will not regulate dioxins in land-applied sewage sludge, regardless of the fact that it is the largest source for dioxin exposure in the nation after backyard trash burning. Dioxins are among the most toxic substances on Earth, according to NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), and today's decision violates the Clean Water Act, which requires the agency to limit toxic pollutants that harm human health or the environment.
:"Dioxins cause cancer and diabetes, as well as nervous system and hormonal problems," said [[Nancy Stoner]], director of NRDC's Clean Water Project. "And the EPA is required by law to protect the public from toxic pollutants like dioxins. This decision shows the agency under this administration has forgotten its mission."
:"EPA was required to announce this final regulation today as part of a settlement agreement with NRDC. The settlement is the final phase of lawsuits filed by NRDC and environmentalists in Oregon more than a decade ago to require EPA to limit toxic pollutants in sludge. Although amendments to the Clean Water Act in 1987 require EPA to set limits on toxic pollutants, the agency has not yet met that obligation for dioxin or any other organic toxic pollutant."<ref>[http://www.nrdc.org/media/pressreleases/031017.asp EPA Will Not Protect Public From Dioxins In Land-Applied Sewage Sludge], Natural Resources Defense Council, October 17, 2003, Accessed May 12, 2011.</ref>
At that time, NRDC made the following recommendations:
:* "Prohibit sludge application on land used for pasture or growing forage food for livestock that will be consumed by humans;
:* "Set a dioxins limit at 1 in one million cancer risk to protect public health;
:* "Ban land application to sites where dioxin levels in the soil (sic) 1 parts per trillion (based on ecological risks that cannot be alleviated by management measures, such as banning application to pasture lands, which would reduce risks to human health); and
:* "Require pollution prevention programs for sludges with detectible amounts of dioxins."<ref>[http://www.nrdc.org/media/pressreleases/031017.asp EPA Will Not Protect Public From Dioxins In Land-Applied Sewage Sludge], Natural Resources Defense Council, October 17, 2003, Accessed May 12, 2011.</ref>
=== NRDC Founder Endorsed Sewage Sludge Use in Agriculture ===