Difference between revisions of "Biosolids"

Latest revision as of 21:11, 25 December 2019

WARNING! Sewage sludge is toxic. Food should not be grown in "biosolids." Join the Food Rights Network.

This article is part of the Food Rights Network, a project of the Center for Media and Democracy. Find out more here.

Biosolids is the Orwellian PR euphemism for toxic sewage sludge. The name was created and chosen in a PR contest by the lobby association for sewage industry, the Water Environment Federation (WEF). For more background see also The EPA's plan to bypass opposition to sewage sludge disposal and You say biosolids, I say sewage sludge. There is now a SourceWatch Portal on "Biosolids" Beyond biosolids, the sewage sludge industry now puts its waste product into bags labeled "compost" and promotes them through US Composting Council, BioCycle and other front groups and partners.

Beginning in the 1990's the WEF, with the active encouragement and approval of the Environmental Protection Agency, pushed for the disposal of sewage sludge on farm land after bans were imposed on dumping it in the ocean or incinerating it. The name change of sewage sludge to "biosolids" was crucial the image makeover for sewage sludge, a classic industry-government campaign of greenwashing to change the public perception of toxic sewage sludge from an accurate one of "hazardous waste" to the misleading image of biosolids representing safe "beneficial reuse," responsible "recycling" and healthy "organic fertilizer," lately including the ruse of sewage sludge as "organic compost."

A list of just some of the hazardous chemicals and pathogens found in sludge can be found in the article Sludge contaminants. Sludge contaminants include Dioxins and Furans, Flame Retardants, Metals, Organochlorine Pesticides, 1,2-Dibromo-3-Chloropropane (DBCP), Naphthalene, Triclosan, Nonylphenols, Phthalates, Nanosilver, and thousands more substances. "Sewage is the mix of water and whatever wastes from domestic and industrial life are flushed into the sewer. ... We must note that, though the aim of sewage treatment is to produce clean water, it is never to produce 'clean' sludge. Indeed, the 'dirtier' the sludge - the more complete its concentration of the noxious wastes - the more the treatment has done its job. ... very waste produced in our society that can be got rid of down toilets and drains and that can also be got out of the sewage by a given treatment process will be in the sludge. Sludge is thus inevitably a noxious brew of vastly various and incompatible materials unpredictable in themselves and in the toxicity of their amalgamation, incalculably but certainly wildly dangerous to life." ^[1]

Toxic Sewage Sludge Given Away as "Organic Biosolids Compost"

In 2009 a major controversy erupted in San Francisco when the Center for Food Safety and the Organic Consumers Association called on the SFPUC to end its give-away of toxic sewage sludge as free "organic biosolids compost" to gardeners. A March 4, 2010, demonstration at City Hall by the OCA forced a temporary halt to the program. (See articles below)^[2] ^[3]^[4]^[5] ^[6] The misleading labeled "organic compost," which the PUC has given away free to gardeners since 2007, is composed of toxic sewage sludge from San Francisco and eight other counties. Very little toxicity testing has been done, but what little has been done is alarming. Just the sludge from San Francisco alone has tested positive for 1,2-Dibromo-3-Chloropropane (a.k.a. DBCP), Isopropyltoluene (a.k.a. p-cymene or p-isopropyltoluene), Dioxins and Furans. ^[7]

2010 Tests of San Francisco Sewage Sludge Find PBDEs, Triclosan

On August 10, 2010, the Food Rights Network announced in a news release that "Independent tests of sewage sludge-derived compost from the Synagro CVC plant -- distributed free to gardeners since 2007 by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission in their "organic biosolids compost" giveaway program -- have found appreciable concentrations of contaminants with endocrine-disruptive properties. The independent tests were conducted for the Food Rights Networkby Dr. Robert C. Hale of the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences."

In an August 6, 2010, letter reporting on his findings to the Food Rights Network Robert Hale wrote: "A sewage sludge-derived compost from the Synagro CVC plant, distributed by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission in their "compost give away" program, was analyzed for synthetic pollutants. Several classes of emerging contaminants with endocrine disruptive properties were detected in appreciable concentrations, including polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants, nonylphenols (NPs) detergent breakdown products and the antibacterial agent triclosan." PDFs are attached here of the letter and the data: ^[8] ^[9] ^[10] ^[11]

"Toxic Sludge Is Good For You!"

Authors John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton tell the history of the word "biosolids" in their 1995 book Toxic Sludge is Good for You.

"The (Water Environment Federation's) proposal to create a 'Name Change Task Force' originated with Peter Machno, manager of Seattle's sludge program, after protesters mobilized against his plan to spread sludge on local tree farms. 'If I knocked on your door and said I've got this beneficial product called sludge, what are you going to say?' he asked. At Machno's suggestion, the Federation newsletter published a request for alternative names. Members sent in over 250 suggestions including 'all growth,' 'purenutri,' 'biolife,' 'bioslurp,' 'blackgold,' 'geoslime,' 'sca-doo,' 'the end product,' 'humanure,' 'hu-doo,' 'organic residuals,' 'bioresidue,' 'urban biomass,' 'powergro,' 'organite,' 'recylite,' nutricake,' and 'ROSE,' short for 'recycling of solids environmentally.' In June of 1991 the Name Change Task Force fnally settled on 'biosolids,' which it defined as 'the nutrient-rich organic byproduct of the nation's wastewater treatment process.'" ^[12]

Downplaying risks

"There's no doubt that people have been harmed by sewage sludge, but I don't know of any cases where it's been proved beyond a doubt," says Stanford Tackett, a chemist and lead expert.

Tackett's seemingly contradictory statement captures the scientific loophole that PR practitioners use routinely to cover up health hazards. Scientific "proof" is something achieved under laboratory conditions with strict control of all variables. In the real world, those controlled laboratory conditions do not exist.

As an example, Tackett cites a case in Oklahoma where a farmer fed hay grown on sludge-fertilized land to his miniature horses. After nine horses died and 113 others developed liver problems, the farmer took his case to veterinarians at the University of Oklahoma, who tested the hay and found high levels of heavy metals from sludge. Heavy metals are known to cause problems similar to those the horses had experienced. They fed the hay to a healthy horse, and it promptly developed the same problems as the other horses.

"Even in that case, the sludge promoters were able to claim in court that there's no scientific proof that sludge caused the deaths of the horses," Tackett said. "In a strict scientific sense, they're correct." In the real world, however, a rational person can reasonably conclude that sludge was the most likely cause of death, and a reasonable person would want to avoid eating food raised on sludge-fertilized land.

The PR campaign surrounding sludge is aimed at keeping people unaware that sludge is being used as fertilizer so they cannot make informed decisions about its risks. Milorganite fertilizer, for example, is sold in all 50 states in bags describing it as a natural "organic fertilizer." Small print at the bottom of the bag states that it is "produced only by Milorganite Division--MMSD." Outside Milwaukee, very few people know that "MMSD" stands for "Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District," and that they are spreading sewage sludge on their lawns and gardens.

Resources

PRWatch Articles

Rebekah Wilce, More Free Sludge! Calabasas, California Offers Free Sewage Sludge, PRWatch.org, March 6, 2012.
Sara Jerving, Sewage Sludge Rash: Texas Musical Fest-Goers Blame "Dillo Dirt", PRWatch.org, March 2, 2012.
Rebekah Wilce, Neighbors Occupy Road, Blockade Sludge Trucks, PRWatch.org, January 2, 2012.
Rebekah Wilce, Sludge Industry Reveals "Resource Recovery" Spin, PRWatch.org, December 15, 2011.
Rebekah Wilce, Meet Kellogg's Sludge Puppet, PRWatch.org, November 9, 2011.
Lisa Graves, Children Gardening in Sewage Sludge: Los Angeles Schools Alerted, PRWatch.org, October 11, 2011.
Jill Richardson, Los Angeles and Kern County's Epic Sewage Sludge Battle, PRWatch.org, October 5, 2011.
Jill Richardson, Would you "Like" Sewage Sludge on Facebook?, PRWatch.org, September 12, 2011.
Jill Richardson, ALEC Exposed: Protecting Factory Farms and Sewage Sludge?, PRWatch.org, August 4, 2011.
Jill Richardson, Why is Monterey Bay Aquarium Greenwashing Sewage Sludge?, PRWatch.org, May 20, 2011.
John Stauber, San Francisco's Free "Organic Biosolids Compost" is Toxic Sludge, and Not Good For You!, PRWatch.org, August 17, 2010.
John Stauber, Gavin Newsom Hopes to Leave his Sludge in San Francisco, PRWatch.org, July 27, 2010.
John Stauber, Chez Sludge: Complaint Filed Regarding Francesca Vietor's Threat to the Guardian, PRWatch.org, July 13, 2010.
John Stauber, Chez Sludge: How the Sewage Sludge Industry Bedded Alice Waters, PRWatch.org, July 9, 2010.
John Stauber, ACSH Makes Alice Waters a Poster Child for Toxic Sludge, PRWatch.org, April 13, 2010.
Jill Richardson, Toxic Sludge Taints the White House, PRWatch.org, March 29, 2010.
John Stauber, Waiter, There is Toxic Sludge in my Soup!, PRWatch.org, March 16, 2010.
John Stauber, San Francisco's Toxic Sludge: It's Good for You!, PRWatch.org, February 8, 2010.
John Stauber, Toxic Sludge: Better than Ever!, PRWatch.org, May 3, 2009.
John Stauber, Toxic Sludge is Still Good for You!, PRWatch.org, April 28, 2009.

External Resources

Dr. Steve Suppan, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Nanomaterials In Soil: Our Future Food Chain?, organizational report, March 28, 2013.
Murray McBride, "No solid evidence that biosolids are safe to disperse," The Chronicle Herald, August 27, 2011.
John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton, "Flack Attack", PR Watch, Volume 2, No. 3, 3rd Quarter 1995.
Denny Boyles, Group's Appeal Puts Kings County, Calif., Composting Facility on Hold, The Fresno Bee, February 26, 2004.
Brady Welch, Shit show: What has the SFPUC has been dumping in city gardens?, San Francisco Bay Guardian, March 23, 2010.
Gayathri Vaidyanathan, Biosolids Tracking Efforts a Jumble of Research With No Clear Answers, New York Times, Greenwire, August 26, 2010.

Case Studies

You say biosolids, I say sewage sludge

References

↑ About Sewage Sludge, SludgeNews.com, Accessed June 18, 2010.
↑ Heather Knight, Nonprofit calls PUC's compost toxic sludge, San Francisco Chronicle, September 27, 2009.
↑ Barry Estabrook, Free Compost--Or Toxic Sludge?, The Atlantic, December 1, 2009
↑ Anna Werner, Concern Over SF Compost Made from Sewage Sludge, CBS Channel 5, March 3, 2010
↑ Leora Broydo Vestel, http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/food-groups-clash-over-compost-sludge/ Food Groups Clash Over Compost Sludge, New York Times Green Inc. blog, April 9 2010.
↑ Chris Roberts, Farmers Call PUC's Shit, Will Dump it on City Hall Today, San Francisco Appeal, March 4, 2010.
↑ Jill Richardson, What San Francisco Found in Their Own Sludge, La Vida Locavore blog, April 8, 2010.
↑ Hale Letter 8/6/10
↑ Hale Data NP
↑ Hale Data PAH
↑ Hale Data PBDE
↑ John Stauber and Sheldon Ramtpon, Toxic Sludge Is Good For You! LIes, Damned Lies and the Public Relations Industry, Pages 105-106, Common Courage Press, 1995.

This article is a stub. You can help by expanding it.

[1] About Sewage Sludge, SludgeNews.com, Accessed June 18, 2010.

[2] Heather Knight, Nonprofit calls PUC's compost toxic sludge, San Francisco Chronicle, September 27, 2009.

[3] Barry Estabrook, Free Compost--Or Toxic Sludge?, The Atlantic, December 1, 2009

[4] Anna Werner, Concern Over SF Compost Made from Sewage Sludge, CBS Channel 5, March 3, 2010

[5] Leora Broydo Vestel, http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/food-groups-clash-over-compost-sludge/ Food Groups Clash Over Compost Sludge, New York Times Green Inc. blog, April 9 2010.

[6] Chris Roberts, Farmers Call PUC's Shit, Will Dump it on City Hall Today, San Francisco Appeal, March 4, 2010.

[7] Jill Richardson, What San Francisco Found in Their Own Sludge, La Vida Locavore blog, April 8, 2010.

[8] Hale Letter 8/6/10

[9] Hale Data NP

[10] Hale Data PAH

[11] Hale Data PBDE

[12] John Stauber and Sheldon Ramtpon, Toxic Sludge Is Good For You! LIes, Damned Lies and the Public Relations Industry, Pages 105-106, Common Courage Press, 1995.

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-The waste created by human beings, especially in the cities and suburbs, and the waste produced by the huge meat and dairy industries necessitate inventive answers before we pollute are waterways and oceans and landfills with organic material that can be reused. By not reusing this material we are taking away, year by year, nutrients from the nutrient cycle and placing them somewhere else that is poisoned by them or does nothing with them. This facilitates a greater dependency on fertilizers which feed crops directly without adding to the soil anything sustainable.
+{{Show badges| ToxicSludge|FoodRightsNetwork}} '''Biosolids''' is the Orwellian PR euphemism for toxic [[sewage sludge]].  The name was created and chosen in a PR contest by the lobby association for sewage industry, the [[Water Environment Federation]] (WEF). For more background see also [[The EPA's plan to bypass opposition to sewage sludge disposal]] and [[You say biosolids, I say sewage sludge]].  There is now a '''[https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Portal:Toxic_Sludge SourceWatch Portal on "Biosolids"]'''  Beyond biosolids, the sewage sludge industry now puts its waste product into bags labeled "compost" and promotes them through [[US Composting Council]], [[BioCycle]] and other front groups and partners.
-Cities used to get rid of their sewage and sludge at sea and landfills. The seas developed dead zones that had been depleted of oxygen and an international ban was instigated in 1992. Landfills can disrupt and disturb the underground water system. If they do not leak, they effectively seal this material from use. The other form of disposal was burning the treated product. This smells awful and shifts the dumping burden from the earth to the atmosphere. In the 1970s, the EPA began looking into alternative ways to handle the nation's sewage.
+Beginning in the 1990's the WEF, with the active encouragement and approval of the [[Environmental Protection Agency]], pushed for the disposal of sewage sludge on farm land after bans were imposed on dumping it in the ocean or incinerating it.  The name change of sewage sludge to "biosolids" was crucial the image makeover for sewage sludge, a classic industry-government campaign of [[greenwashing]] to change the public perception of toxic [[sewage sludge]] from an accurate one of "hazardous waste" to the misleading image of biosolids representing safe "beneficial reuse," responsible "recycling" and healthy "organic fertilizer," lately including the ruse of sewage sludge as "organic compost."
-The idea to redistribute sludge onto farmland makes sense on many levels and was adopted by the EPA as a means to handle municipal waste. However, it does not appear enough research was done into the grades of sludge being used and the effects this has on the communities involved in these programs. In more cases than not, class B sludge was used, though 95% free of pathogens and heavy metals, many accounts arose of ill effects on people. Class A sludge is 99.9% pathogen free with a very low heavy metal count as well. It is virteously odor free and mixes well with soil. However, because class A sludge undergoes more processes, it is not as rich in nutrients as class B sludge.
+'''A list of just some of the hazardous chemicals and pathogens found in sludge can be found in the article [[Sludge contaminants]].'''  Sludge contaminants include [[Dioxins and Furans]], [[Flame Retardants]], [[Metals]], [[Organochlorine Pesticides]], [[1,2-Dibromo-3-Chloropropane]] ([[DBCP]]), [[Naphthalene]], [[Triclosan]], [[Nonylphenols]], [[Phthalates]], [[Nanosilver]], and thousands more substances.  "Sewage is the mix of water and whatever wastes from domestic and industrial life are flushed into the sewer. ...  We must note that, though the aim of sewage treatment is to produce clean water, it is never to produce 'clean' sludge.  Indeed, the 'dirtier' the sludge - the more complete its concentration of the noxious wastes - the more the treatment has done its job. ... very waste produced in our society that can be got rid of down toilets and drains and that can also be got out of the sewage by a given treatment process will be in the sludge.  Sludge is thus inevitably a noxious brew of vastly various and incompatible materials unpredictable in themselves and in the toxicity of their amalgamation, incalculably but certainly wildly dangerous to life." <ref>[http://www.sludgenews.org/about/ About Sewage Sludge], SludgeNews.com, Accessed June 18, 2010.</ref>
-The benefits of a safe biosolid project would give credence to the name change. Biosolids have a high level of organics, it is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus. It acts as a soil enricher rather than fertilizer with applications lasting between seasons. It feeds essential soil micro organisms and increases the soil's water holding ability. The negatives of sludge, first and foremost, is that it carries pathogens harmful to humans like: salmonella, Shigella bacteria, hep A, giardia, and parasitic worms. The other real problem is the presence of heavy metals. The heavy metals are present because many water treatment plants are treating water from combined sewer systems which mix human waste with municipal storm runoff which includes the vast amount industrial waste dumped into the enviroment.
+==Toxic Sewage Sludge Given Away as "Organic Biosolids Compost"==
+In 2009 a major controversy erupted in San Francisco when the [[Center for Food Safety]] and the [[Organic Consumers Association]] called on the [[SFPUC]] to end its give-away of toxic [[sewage sludge]] as free "organic [[biosolids]] compost" to gardeners.  A March 4, 2010, demonstration at City Hall by the OCA forced a temporary halt to the program.  (See articles below)<ref>Heather Knight, [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/27/BAAK19SC1J.DTL Nonprofit calls PUC's compost toxic sludge], San Francisco Chronicle, September 27, 2009.</ref> <ref>Barry Estabrook, [http://www.theatlantic.com/food/archive/2009/12/free-compost-or-toxic-sludge/31024/ Free Compost--Or Toxic Sludge?], The Atlantic, December 1, 2009</ref><ref>Anna Werner, [http://cbs5.com/video/?id=62619@kpix.dayport.com Concern Over SF Compost Made from Sewage Sludge], CBS Channel 5, March 3, 2010</ref><ref>Leora Broydo Vestel, http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/food-groups-clash-over-compost-sludge/  Food Groups Clash Over Compost Sludge, New York Times Green Inc. blog, April 9 2010.</ref> <ref>Chris Roberts, [http://sfappeal.com/news/2010/03/farmers-call-pucs-shit-will.php Farmers Call PUC's Shit, Will Dump it on City Hall Today], San Francisco Appeal, March 4, 2010.</ref>  The misleading labeled "organic compost," which the PUC has given away free to gardeners since 2007,  is composed of toxic sewage sludge from San Francisco and eight other counties.  Very little toxicity testing has been done, but what little has been done is alarming.  Just the sludge from San Francisco alone has tested positive for [http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/dibromo-.html 1,2-Dibromo-3-Chloropropane] (a.k.a. DBCP), [http://www.epa.gov/iris/subst/0414.htm Isopropyltoluene] (a.k.a. p-cymene or p-isopropyltoluene), [http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/dioxins/index.cfm Dioxins] and [http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/environ/dioxin-eng.php Furans].   <ref> Jill Richardson, [http://www.lavidalocavore.org/diary/3480/what-san-francisco-found-in-their-own-sludge What San Francisco Found in Their Own Sludge], La Vida Locavore blog, April 8, 2010.</ref>
-An intelligent and well funded project can make class A sludge available as the biosolid used in soil upgrade. As long as there are no restrictions on class B sludge being used and little effort is put into studying the effects of its use, the future of biosolids will have to fight the image that they may be operating a form of a dump site. This would be a shame. As our population grows, we will have to find innovative ways to maximize what we use and minimize what we waste.
+==2010 Tests of San Francisco Sewage Sludge  Find PBDEs, Triclosan==
+On August 10, 2010, the [[Food Rights Network]] announced in a [http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/independent-scientific-testing-finds-toxic-contaminants-in-san-franciscos-free-organic-biosolids-compost-100335484.html news release] that "Independent tests of sewage sludge-derived compost from the [[Synagro]] CVC plant -- distributed free to gardeners since 2007 by the [[San Francisco Public Utilities Commission]] in their "organic biosolids compost" giveaway program -- have found appreciable concentrations of contaminants with endocrine-disruptive properties.  The independent tests were conducted for the Food Rights Networkby Dr. Robert C. Hale of the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences."
+In an [https://www.sourcewatch.org/images/2/2f/Compost2010_analysis-5.pdf August 6, 2010, letter reporting on his findings] to the Food Rights Network Robert Hale wrote:  "A sewage sludge-derived compost from the Synagro CVC plant, distributed by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission in their "compost give away" program, was analyzed for synthetic pollutants.  Several classes of emerging contaminants with endocrine disruptive properties were detected in appreciable concentrations, including polybrominated diphenyl ether ([[PBDE]]) flame retardants, nonylphenols (NPs) detergent breakdown products and the antibacterial agent [[triclosan]]."   '''PDFs are attached here of the letter and the data:''' <ref>[https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=File:Compost2010_analysis-5.pdf Hale Letter 8/6/10]</ref>  <ref>[https://www.sourcewatch.org/images/f/ff/SanFran_compost2010_NPs.pdf Hale Data NP]</ref> <ref> [https://www.sourcewatch.org/images/5/58/SanFran_compost2010_PAH.pdf Hale Data PAH]</ref> <ref>[https://www.sourcewatch.org/images/1/10/SanFran_compost2010_PBDE.pdf Hale Data PBDE]</ref>
+=="Toxic Sludge Is Good For You!"==
+Authors [[John Stauber]] and Sheldon Rampton tell the history of the word "biosolids" in their 1995 book [https://www.prwatch.org/books/tsigfy.html Toxic Sludge is Good for You].
+* "The ([[Water Environment Federation]]'s) proposal to create a 'Name Change Task Force' originated with [[Peter Machno]], manager of Seattle's sludge program, after protesters mobilized against his plan to spread sludge on local tree farms.  'If I knocked on your door and said I've got this beneficial product called sludge, what are you going to say?' he asked.  At Machno's suggestion, the Federation newsletter published a request for alternative names.  Members sent in over 250 suggestions including 'all growth,' 'purenutri,' 'biolife,' 'bioslurp,' 'blackgold,' 'geoslime,' 'sca-doo,' 'the end product,' 'humanure,' 'hu-doo,' 'organic residuals,' 'bioresidue,' 'urban biomass,' 'powergro,' 'organite,' 'recylite,' nutricake,' and 'ROSE,' short for 'recycling of solids environmentally.'  In June of 1991 the Name Change Task Force fnally settled on ''''biosolids''',' which it defined as 'the nutrient-rich organic byproduct of the nation's wastewater treatment process.'" <ref> John Stauber and Sheldon Ramtpon, [https://www.prwatch.org/tsigfy.html Toxic Sludge Is Good For You!  LIes, Damned Lies and the Public Relations Industry], Pages 105-106, Common Courage Press, 1995.</ref>
+==Downplaying risks==
+"There's no doubt that people have been harmed by sewage sludge, but I don't know of any cases where it's been proved beyond a doubt," says Stanford Tackett, a chemist and lead expert.
+Tackett's seemingly contradictory statement captures the scientific loophole that PR practitioners use routinely to cover up health hazards. Scientific "proof" is something achieved under laboratory conditions with strict control of all variables. In the real world, those controlled laboratory conditions do not exist.
+As an example, Tackett cites a case in Oklahoma where a farmer fed hay grown on sludge-fertilized land to his miniature horses. After nine horses died and 113 others developed liver problems, the farmer took his case to veterinarians at the University of Oklahoma, who tested the hay and found high levels of heavy metals from sludge. Heavy metals are known to cause problems similar to those the horses had experienced. They fed the hay to a healthy horse, and it promptly developed the same problems as the other horses.
+"Even in that case, the sludge promoters were able to claim in court that there's no scientific proof that sludge caused the deaths of the horses," Tackett said. "In a strict scientific sense, they're correct."
+In the real world, however, a rational person can reasonably conclude that sludge was the most likely cause of death, and a reasonable person would want to avoid eating food raised on sludge-fertilized land.
+The PR campaign surrounding sludge is aimed at keeping people unaware that sludge is being used as fertilizer so they cannot make informed decisions about its risks. [[Milorganite]] fertilizer, for example, is sold in all 50 states in bags describing it as a natural "organic fertilizer." Small print at the bottom of the bag states that it is "produced only by Milorganite Division--[[MMSD]]." Outside Milwaukee, very few people know that "MMSD" stands for "[[Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District]]," and that they are spreading sewage sludge on their lawns and gardens.
+==Resources==
+===Other SourceWatch Articles===
+* [[Food Rights Network]]
+* [[Sewage sludge]]
+* [[You say biosolids, I say sewage sludge]]
+* [[Scientific Studies of Sewage Sludge]]
+* [[Sludge contaminants]]
+* [[Targeted National Sewage Sludge Survey]]
+* [[The EPA's plan to bypass opposition to sewage sludge disposal]]
+* [[Sewage sludge giveaways, producers, and brands]]
+* [[Water Environment Federation]]
+* [[US Composting Council]]
+* [[BioCycle]]
+* [[Sludge News]]
+* [[Sewage Sludge Primer]]
+===PRWatch Articles===
+* [[User:Rebekah_Wilce|Rebekah Wilce]], [https://www.prwatch.org/news/2012/03/11311/more-free-sludge-calabasas-california-offers-free-sewage-sludge-compost More Free Sludge! Calabasas, California Offers Free Sewage Sludge], ''PRWatch.org'', March 6, 2012.
+* [https://www.prwatch.org/users/35298/sara-jerving Sara Jerving], [https://www.prwatch.org/news/2012/03/11310/sewage-sludge-rash-texas-musical-fest-goers-blame-dillo-dirt Sewage Sludge Rash: Texas Musical Fest-Goers Blame "Dillo Dirt"], ''PRWatch.org'', March 2, 2012.
+* Rebekah Wilce, [https://www.prwatch.org/news/2012/01/11187/neighbors-occupy-road-blockade-sludge-trucks Neighbors Occupy Road, Blockade Sludge Trucks], ''PRWatch.org'', January 2, 2012.
+* Rebekah Wilce, [https://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/12/11121/sludge-industry-reveals-resource-recovery-spin Sludge Industry Reveals "Resource Recovery" Spin], ''PRWatch.org'', December 15, 2011.
+* Rebekah Wilce, [https://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/11/11092/meet-kelloggs-sludge-puppet Meet Kellogg's Sludge Puppet], ''PRWatch.org'', November 9, 2011.
+* [[Lisa Graves]], [https://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/10/11068/children-gardening-sewage-sludge-los-angeles-schools-alerted Children Gardening in Sewage Sludge: Los Angeles Schools Alerted], ''PRWatch.org'', October 11, 2011.
+* [[Jill Richardson]], [https://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/10/10923/los-angeles-and-kern-countys-epic-sewage-sludge-battle Los Angeles and Kern County's Epic Sewage Sludge Battle], ''PRWatch.org'', October 5, 2011.
+* Jill Richardson, [https://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/09/10926/would-you-sewage-sludge-facebook Would you "Like" Sewage Sludge on Facebook?], ''PRWatch.org'', September 12, 2011.
+* Jill Richardson, [https://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/08/10922/alec-exposed-protecting-factory-farms-and-sewage-sludge ALEC Exposed: Protecting Factory Farms and Sewage Sludge?], ''PRWatch.org'', August 4, 2011.
+* Jill Richardson, [https://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/05/10768/why-monterey-bay-aquarium-greenwashing-sewage-sludge Why is Monterey Bay Aquarium Greenwashing Sewage Sludge?], ''PRWatch.org'', May 20, 2011.
+* [[John Stauber]], [https://www.prwatch.org/news/2010/08/9378/san-franciscos-free-organic-biosolids-compost-toxic-sludge-and-not-good-you San Francisco's Free "Organic Biosolids Compost" is Toxic Sludge, and Not Good For You!], ''PRWatch.org'', August 17, 2010.
+* John Stauber, [https://www.prwatch.org/news/2010/07/9330/gavin-newsom-hopes-leave-his-sludge-san-francisco Gavin Newsom Hopes to Leave his Sludge in San Francisco], ''PRWatch.org'', July 27, 2010.
+* John Stauber, [https://www.prwatch.org/news/2010/07/9257/chez-sludge-complaint-filed-regarding-francesca-vietors-threat-guardian Chez Sludge: Complaint Filed Regarding Francesca Vietor's Threat to the Guardian], ''PRWatch.org'', July 13, 2010.
+* John Stauber, [https://www.prwatch.org/news/2010/07/9243/chez-sludge-how-sewage-sludge-industry-bedded-alice-waters Chez Sludge: How the Sewage Sludge Industry Bedded Alice Waters], ''PRWatch.org'', July 9, 2010.
+* John Stauber, [https://www.prwatch.org/spin/2010/04/9005/acsh-makes-alice-waters-poster-child-toxic-sludge ACSH Makes Alice Waters a Poster Child for Toxic Sludge], ''PRWatch.org'', April 13, 2010.
+* Jill Richardson, [https://www.prwatch.org/news/2010/03/8982/toxic-sludge-taints-white-house Toxic Sludge Taints the White House], ''PRWatch.org'', March 29, 2010.
+* John Stauber, [https://www.prwatch.org/news/2010/03/8949/waiter-there-toxic-sludge-my-organic-soup Waiter, There is Toxic Sludge in my Soup!], ''PRWatch.org'', March 16, 2010.
+* John Stauber, [https://www.prwatch.org/spin/2010/02/8885/san-franciscos-toxic-sludge-its-good-you San Francisco's Toxic Sludge: It's Good for You!], ''PRWatch.org'', February 8, 2010.
+* John Stauber, [https://www.prwatch.org/spin/2009/05/8359/toxic-sludge-better-ever Toxic Sludge: Better than Ever!], ''PRWatch.org'', May 3, 2009.
+* John Stauber, [https://www.prwatch.org/spin/2009/04/8352/toxic-sludge-still-good-you Toxic Sludge is Still Good for You!], ''PRWatch.org'', April 28, 2009.
+===External Resources===
+* Dr. Steve Suppan, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, [http://www.iatp.org/documents/nanomaterials-in-soil-our-future-food-chain Nanomaterials In Soil: Our Future Food Chain?], organizational report, March 28, 2013.
+* [[Murray McBride]], "[http://thechronicleherald.ca/Letters/1260398.html No solid evidence that biosolids are safe to disperse]," The Chronicle Herald, August 27, 2011.
+*John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton, "[https://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/1995Q3/index.html Flack Attack]", ''PR Watch'', Volume 2, No. 3, 3rd Quarter 1995.
+* Denny Boyles, [https://www.sourcewatch.org/images/2/2a/San_Fran_Enviro_Group_VS_Biosolids.pdf Group's Appeal Puts Kings County, Calif., Composting Facility on Hold], The Fresno Bee, February 26, 2004.
+* Brady Welch, [http://www.sfbg.com/2010/03/23/shit-show Shit show: What has the SFPUC has been dumping in city gardens?], San Francisco Bay Guardian, March 23, 2010.
+* Gayathri Vaidyanathan, [http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/08/26/26greenwire-biosolids-tracking-efforts-a-jumble-of-researc-37390.html Biosolids Tracking Efforts a Jumble of Research With No Clear Answers], ''New York Times'', Greenwire, August 26, 2010.
+===Case Studies===
+*[[You say biosolids, I say sewage sludge]]
+===References===
+<references/>
+{{stub}}
+[[Category:Doublespeak]][[category: sewage sludge products]] [[Category:Toxic Sludge]] [[Category:Food Rights Network]]