Forever Chemicals in Sewage Sludge Poison Our Water and Our Blood

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA-DEP) is proposing new rules for those wastewater treatment plants that produce sludge. The draft rules say that if the sludge is for farmland application, testing must show that the forever chemical load is no more than the new rules allow. This is a big step forward because, for the first time, the state will require testing for these forever chemicals (PFAS and PFOAS). We believe that when farmers know the forever-chemical content of sludge, they will rethink using sludge as a fertilizer. We also believe these tests will educate the PA-DEP and show how contaminated sewage sludge can be. And while on the topic of PFAS and PFOS... the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously upheld the EPA’s 2024 decision to list two “forever chemicals”—PFOA and PFOS—as hazardous substances under the federal Superfund law (Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et. al. v. EPA). These designations give the EPA additional authority to promote the remediation of contaminated sites and hold parties responsible for forever chemical releases liable for clean-up costs. The US Court of Appeals rejected challenges to the designation that were brought by chemical manufacturers, waste disposal companies, and others. So what's the big deal about PFAS and PFOS? PFAS and PFOS are increasingly found to be extremely toxic to humans and do not breakdown into less toxic forms - hence their "Forever Chemical" nickname. A recently published article documents how excessively high levels of PFAS and PFOS in human blood streams leads to many health and developmental issues as documented by the EPA. We must continue to demand stronger protections from the PA-DEP and support remediation for those communities impacted by high levels of PFAS and PFOS in their drinking water supply.