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Subject: Toxic Waste=Sewer Sludge=Fertilizer?
From: tricia9@aol.com (Tricia 9)
Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com
Date: Wed, 06 Sep 00 15:03:34
Message-ID: <MOD$000906.23106@rec.gardens.ecosystems>



by John C. Stauber and Sheldon Rampton
"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.

Here is the shocking, untold story of how, with the EPA's blessing, sewage
sludge is being foisted upon an unsuspecting public, making it difficult to
avoid its risks and dangers, and placing the burden of proof on sludge victims
rather than the toxic waste industry.

For More see:
http://www.prwatch.org/prw_issues/1995-Q3/index.html