EPA report says “forever chemicals” in sewage-based fertilizer pose cancer risk

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published a long-awaited risk assessment Tuesday on the presence of PFAS in sewage sludge, and found that the risk is much higher than suspected and could pose risks to human health.

Called “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment, PFAS are a family of chemicals known to cause serious health and environmental impacts. They’re used in an array of consumer products and can easily get washed or flushed into city wastewater systems, contaminating the biosolids that are produced from sewage and often turned into fertilizer that’s sold to farmers and ranchers as a cheaper alternative to chemical fertilizers.

For decades, fertilizers made from sewage have been promoted as a sustainable way to recycle municipal waste. The EPA has even supported their use, but now the agency is warning that biosolids can pose some cancer risk. The assessment revealed that in some instances, the risks far exceeded the agency’s acceptable thresholds “by several orders of magnitude” for human health.

“This draft assessment provides important information to help inform future actions by federal and state agencies as well as steps that wastewater systems, farmers and other stakeholders can take to protect people from PFAS exposure, while ensuring American industry keeps feeding and fueling our nation,” said Jane Nishida, the EPA’s acting administrator.

According to the EPA’s assessment, roughly 56% of the nation's sewage sludge is spread on agricultural lands, golf courses and residential lawns and gardens. It’s unclear how much of it contains PFAS, and if it does, whether it’s at hazardous levels.

While the EPA has set limits for certain PFAS in drinking water, there are no requirements to test biosolids for the chemicals or to warn farmers and ranchers that they could be using contaminated fertilizer made with biosolids on their land.

The EPA will take input from the public on the draft risk assessment for 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register, then plans to publish a final version after reviewing public comments and making any revisions. The EPA said it will use the findings to come up with guidelines to help reduce the risk of PFAS exposure.

Last year, the Tribune reported that farmers in Johnson county sued a fertilizer company, alleging that it sold fertilizer made from PFAS-contaminated municipal waste that poisoned their land and killed their livestock. The farmers also sued the EPA, claiming the agency failed to implement restrictions on PFAS in biosolids despite knowing the health risks posed by the chemicals. The farmers say they’re not able to make a living off their own land because of the contamination.

“This stuff is being applied all over the country every day and it’s a nightmare unfolding. I can’t believe it has taken so long for anyone to pay attention,” said Tony Coleman, a farmer in Johnson County who has lost dozens of cattle.

Similar stories have emerged nationwide as farmers and ranchers who unknowingly used PFAS-tainted fertilizers made from sewage sludge on their land have been forced to shut down after discovering their land and livestock are poisoned.

Some states, like Maine and Michigan, have already taken steps to restrict PFAS in biosolids. Texas has not taken similar action, but several rural counties have passed resolutions urging farmers to stop using biosolids on their land until further testing is conducted.

Meanwhile, state Rep. Helen Kerwin of Johnson County has introduced a bill requiring monthly PFAS testing of biosolids-based products and imposing penalties on violators, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton recently filed a lawsuit against chemical giants 3M and DuPont, accusing them of misleading the public about the risks of PFAS.

The EPA’s assessment, which is used to understand health risks to people and livestock, modeled scenarios where sewage sludge containing as little as 1 part per billion of PFOA or PFOS — two of the most widely used forever chemicals — was spread on land. In certain scenarios, the assessment found, even a single application of sewage sludge could result in human health risks surpassing EPA's cancer risk level of 1 in 100,000, meaning that for every 100,000 people exposed, there would be one additional case of cancer.

The report also noted that exposure risks will vary from farm to farm, but key factors exacerbating PFAS contamination include the frequency of sludge applications, volume applied and regional climate conditions.

EPA’s analysis showed that the general food supply isn't threatened by the use of biosolids that contain PFOA or PFOS, but recognizes that certain “hot spots” and specific farming operations may have higher levels of PFOA or PFOS if contaminated sludge was applied. The agency’s assessment said that the most at risk people are those who drink milk from pasture-raised cows consuming PFAS-contaminated soil and water, eat fish from a lake contaminated by PFAS-laden runoff and eat beef or eggs from hens or cattle raised in PFAS-contaminated pastures.

"This really confirms what those folks know already, there is this contamination problem that's happening, and we need to make sure that those impacted farmers in Johnson County are able to get the cleanup funds that they need from the people who caused the problem in the first place," said Jared Hayes, a senior policy analyst focusing on PFAS with the nonprofit Environmental Working Group.