permaculture

["Amy Little" <amylittle@hvc.rr.com>]

To: nefood@elist.tufts.edu
Subject: [NEFOOD] How EPA Faked the Entire Science of Sewage Sludge Safety: A 
Whistleblower's Story by Dr David Lewis

Land application of sewage sludge is a health and environmental disaster of 
unknown proportions -- the science has been minimal and the information given 
to the public has been intentionally distorted. A healthy future depends on 
healthy soils -- this issue needs more attention.

Dear Friends and Colleagues

Published today (June 9th) in Independent Science News:

How EPA Faked the Entire Science of Sewage Sludge Safety: A Whistleblower's 
Story by Dr David Lewis 
http://www.independentsciencenews.org/health/how-epa-faked-the-entire-science-of-sewage-sludge-safety-a-whistleblowers-story/
Synopsis: US EPA’s 503 sludge rule (1993) currently allows application of 
treated sewage sludges (aka biosolids) to farms, forests, parks, schools, 
playgrounds, homes, and gardens. Biosolids are the insoluble wastes that 
settle out at water treatment plants. They contain complex mixtures of 
industrial chemicals, heavy metals, mercury, phthalates, flame retardants, 
many common drugs and pathogenic agents. While working at EPA, senior 
scientist David Lewis published evidence showing a New Hampshire teenager 
Shayne Conner died, and other neighbors were harmed, from exposure to land- 
applied sewage sludge. Lewis became involved further when dairy herds on two 
Georgia farms were poisoned after grazing on sludged land. The following 
article is an excerpt from his new book.

In How EPA Faked the Entire Science of Sewage Sludge Safety: A 
Whistleblower's Story Dr. Lewis details an unprecedented case of scientific 
misconduct.
Approved at high levels, it spanned EPA, local and city municipalities, USDA, 
Synagro Technologies (a waste management company), leading universities, and 
the National Academies of Science. This pan-institutional misconduct falsely 
presented sewage sludge as safe, hid the evidence that it was not, falsified 
the reported contents of municipal sludges, and smeared Dr Lewis with a 
scientific misconduct charge after he blew the whistle. As a consequence, 
sewage sludges can be legally used as fertilisers when in fact they are 
highly polluted industrial wastes.

Please share this important article.
Apologies for cross-posting.


Allison Wilson, PhD
Science Director
The Bioscience Resource Project

phone: 1 (607) 319 0279
a.wilson@bioscienceresource.org
www.independentsciencenews.org
and
www.bioscienceresource.org

"Good with Science"

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