Update: This bill failed to pass the funnel and is sidelined for this year.

Stop spreading PFAS-laden sewage sludge on farmland

A bill that requires wastewater treatment plants to test sewage sludge for the presence of PFAS, requires written notice of the test results to landowners where the sludge is to be applied, and allows landowners to refuse application of the contaminated sludge on farmland.  

What you can do

Ask the Senate Natural Resources Subcommittee to support bill SF2193 - jason.schultz@legis.iowa.gov , tom.shipley@legis.iowa.gov , art.staed@legis.iowa.gov

Background

Sewage sludge is the solid material that settles out of wastewater at a sewage treatment plant. The wastewater treatment process does not remove PFAS from sewage sludge.  Sewage sludge is applied to farmland as fertilizer.

PFAS chemicals are toxic to humans.  What’s more, they can be found in human body tissue where they accumulate and are released from the body very slowly.  Exposure to PFAS has been linked to kidney and testicular cancers, immune system issues, fertility problems, low infant birth weights, low growth rates in children, learning concerns, and increased cholesterol levels.  Additionally PFAS has been linked to thyroid hormone disruption. 

PFAS persists in the environment and does not break down; that is why they are called "forever chemicals".  These substances are difficult to dispose of.  Once they are applied to farmland, the crops can pick up the PFAS chemical and store it in the plant cells.    

PFAS chemicals are resistant to water, oil, grease, and heat. These chemicals have been used as fire retardants, in non-stick cookware (such as Teflon), on stain-resistant clothing (such as Goretex) and fabrics (including Scotchgard-protected fabrics), carpets (such as Stainmaster), umbrellas, tents, in food packaging, in cleaning products, in polishes and waxes, in paint, in insulation for wiring, and in fire-suppressing foams.  The fire-suppressing foams have been used at military installations, fire training centers, airports, and some manufacturing facilities. Airports have used de-icers that contained PFAS. Some industries, such as chrome plating, electronics manufacturing, and oil recovery, use PFAS compounds.

Conclusion

This bill is a commonsense solution that will prevent future PFAS contamination of farm land when sewage sludge is applied as fertilizer.  

This bill  requires wastewater treatment plants to test sewage sludge for the presence of PFAS, requires written notice of the test results to landowners where the sludge is to be applied, and allows landowners to refuse application of the contaminated sludge on farmland.