Changes

According to the EPA, dioxins and furans enter the environment from the incineration of municipal waste and medical waste, secondary copper smelting, forest fires, land application of [[sewage sludge]], cement kilns, coal fired power plants, residential wood burning, chlorine bleaching of wood pulp, and perhaps backyard burning of household waste.<ref>U.S. EPA, [http://www.epa.gov/pbt/pubs/dioxins.htm Dioxins and Furans], Accessed August 6, 2010.</ref> According to the [[Natural Resources Defense Council]] (NRDC), "sewage sludge... is '''the largest source for dioxin exposure in the nation after backyard trash burning'''."<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> (emphasis added) === Dangerous Levels of Dioxins Found in Sewage Sludge "Compost" ===In 2010, a test found 65.97 TEQ of dioxins in the [[sewage sludge]]-based "compost" product [[Amend]], made by [[Kellogg Garden Products]].<ref>[http://www.sourcewatch.org/images/3/38/BiosolidsCompostMemo.pdf SFPUC Biosolids Compost Memo], San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, July 27, 2010.</ref> Amend is sold at [[Home Depot]], [[Lowes]], and nurseries on the west coast, advertised as a compost intended for flower and vegetable gardens. === NRDC Calls for Stricter Regulation of Dioxins in Sewage Sludge ===In 2003, the [[EPA]] announced that it would not regulate dioxins in [[sewage sludge]] applied to land as fertilizer, even when used on farms and gardens where food is grown. The [[Natural Resources Defense Council]] (NRDC) criticized this decision, saying it violates the [[Clean Water Act]]. :"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."<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> Stoner added: :"EPA traditionally limits public exposure to chemicals if they pose a cancer risk of one per 1 million Americans," Stoner explained. "But the risk is 1 in 10,000 from the dioxins we already have in our bodies. And cancer isn't the only problem. The EPA itself has said that the non-cancer risks of dioxins are so high that it can't even calculate a 'safe' or acceptable level of exposure. To us that says EPA should keep dioxins out of our food, and that means, among other things, regulating sewage sludge."<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 called on the EPA to do the following: :* "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>