Toxic Chemicals (PFAS, etc.) in Fertilizers - Including Ones Labeled Organic

[webmaster]

So... apparently there are seriously bad toxic chemicals in certain fertilizers sold everywhere, including fertilizers labeled all-natural or organic. The article talks about PFAS but they said there are many others as well.

From The Guardian:

Sewage sludge that wastewater treatment districts across America package and sell as home fertilizer contain alarming levels of toxic PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals”

Many of the biosolid brands market the products as “eco”, “natural”, “reclaimed” or “organic”, which Miller characterized as “comforting” but misleading.

“These are words that can have some truth but there’s no legal definition for them,” she added. While some brands state that the product is made with biosolids, packaging doesn’t explicitly say that it’s a combination of human and industrial sewage waste.

Among the few standards for PFAS in sludge are in Maine, where the state government set screening levels for PFOA and PFOS, two common types of PFAS. It developed the standards after milk from cows on a dairy farm that spread sludge were found to be contaminated with high levels of PFAS. The cows had to be killed, and the farmers found extremely high PFAS levels in their blood.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... age-sludge

[applestar]

Looks like we were reading the same article @Webmaster ...I went looking for the products they mentioned —

Subject: Milorganite- Anyone using it?

I will bump this thread since one of the products is mentioned here. Searching the forum for “milorganite” seem to showup in mostly lawncare threads, but this is something that also merits consideration in all other areas and especially in food gardening. Link to article and excerpt below:

Sludge in the Garden: Toxic PFAS in home fertilizers made from sewage sludge | Sierra Club

The Sierra Club and the Ecology Center identified dozens of home fertilizers made from biosolids. We purchased nine fertilizers:

Cured Bloom (Washington DC)
TAGRO Mix (Tacoma, Washington)
Milorganite 6-4-0 (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
Pro Care Natural Fertilizer (Madison, Georgia)
EcoScraps Slow-Release Fertilizer (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Menards Premium Natural Fertilizer (Eau Claire, Wisconsin)
GreenEdge Slow Release Fertilizer (Jacksonville, Florida)
Earthlife Natural Fertilizer (North Andover, Massachusetts)
Synagro Granulite Fertilizer Pellets (Sacramento area, California)

Our tests reveal that American gardeners can unwittingly bring PFAS contaminants home when they buy fertilizer that is made from sludge-biosolids.

[imafan26]

It can also occur in composts as well. Especially greenwaste composts. While it is good to recycle, you never know what people put in their bins.

[applestar]

PFAS are in the news again —

Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ detected in commonly used insecticides in US, study finds
‘Screamingly high’ levels of PFOS, one of the most dangerous PFAS compounds, found in six out of 10 insecticides tested
Read in The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... ides-study


“ Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a class of about 12,000 chemicals typically used to make thousands of products water-, stain- and heat-resistant. They do not naturally break down and accumulate in humans and the environment. A growing body of evidence links them to serious health problems such as cancer, birth defects, liver disease, kidney disease, autoimmune disorders, high cholesterol and decreased immunity.”

Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ detected in commonly used insecticides in US, study finds | Environment | The Guardian

[webmaster]

This underlines how important it is to be aware of what is being applied to the soil because that gets into the water supply. And apparently it's not just pesticides, which makes this even more important.

The watershed is increasingly contaminated in communities across the United States, making the drinking water unsafe.

[pepperhead212]

And who would have thought that something as insignificant as dental floss has PFAS added to it? Why didn't they just keep waxing it the old fashioned way?
https://www.organicauthority.com/energe ... ntal-floss

[Gary350]

I found this fertilizer video while searching for trace elements that my garden soil might need. Half way into the video it talks about sewage plants all over the USA sell solid waste as organic fertilizer. It fails to mention all the medication billions of people take is probably in that fertilizer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNobTDhcr84

We have a land fill next to the river we get our city drinking water from. 2 years ago 3 people all most died from swimming in the toxic river water it is contaminated with run off from the 30 year old land fill. Land fill refused to put up warning sign to keep people from swimming in the river but a few months later warning signs were up. Now 2 years later warning signs are gone. Water plant 8 miles down stream from the land fill supplies water to several local towns.

[imafan26]

Unless you live in a bubble, it is hard to avoid toxic chemicals. Not just in fertilizer, but in the air, soil, and water.

Amend used to have biosolids in them but they stopped using them. Before I asked the ag salesperson about it and he said they were only recommending it to use on golf courses but not on edible gardens.

Actually I have never liked to use animal manures because they have always been a higher risk for transmitting e. coli, and salmonella if they are not properly aged and composted.

Actually it bugs me when someone says they want something organic because they don't want it to be synthetic because of the toxicity. I have to explain to them that organic insecticides are toxic, if they weren't then what good would they do.
I also have to explain to them some organic things are more toxic than synthetics ex. rotenone, nicotine, vinegar.

The thing about the PFA's . They have been in use for a very long time. Isn't this locking the barn after the horse has the flu?

[applestar]

Contamination and lack of sufficient self-inhibition by the perpetrators, regulation and deterrence, oversight and control, and punishment are unfortunately perpetual and continuing problems.

And we have to make noise to elevate awareness.

I think the levels of “organic” quality are affected and falls or fails under the same kind of meter. Ultimately, you can only be sure of what you grow yourself.