Sludge at a municipal wastewater treatment plant. The proposed rules would largely have ended the use of such sludge, also called biosolids. Photograph: Jon G Fuller/VW Pics/Universal/Getty Images
EPA tosses out scientific research carried out under Biden and says toxic sludge not a significant threat to public
The Trump administration has killed the regulatory review of sewage sludge contaminated with Pfas and spread on farmland as fertilizer, a practice that has sickened farmers, destroyed their livelihoods, killed livestock, polluted water supplies, and poisoned meat and food products sold to the public.
The proposed risk assessment would largely have ended the use of sludge, also called biosolids, in the nation’s food system. But the Environmental Protection Agency tossed out its scientific research from less than two years ago that formed the basis for developing regulations. It justified the decision by declaring that sludge was not a wide threat to the public because it is mostly used on farms, and only a small percentage of cropland.
