Farmers could be at risk due to the chemicals leaching into food and water, the agency said in its draft risk assessment, which is now open for comment.
By Jacob Wallace Editor, Waste Dive, Jan. 15, 2025
The U.S. EPA warns that two kinds of PFAS chemicals can harm human health when found in biosolids at concentrations as low as 1 part per billion after the material has been disposed of or used as fertilizer. The agency determined the chemicals could leach from the material, commonly known as sewage sludge, whether it’s land applied, disposed of in a landfill or incinerated.
The EPA released its draft risk assessment Tuesday. It’s the first comprehensive look performed by the agency at contamination from PFOA and PFOS, two forms of perfluoroalkyl substances, in biosolids.
The acknowledgment comes after years of concern from farmers and state regulators, who have been raising alarms about land application despite its reputation as an effective means of organics recycling.
“They’ve known about PFAS in sludge for well over a decade and their impacts on drinking water, so this report is a long time coming,” Jared Hayes, senior policy analyst at the Environmental Working Group, said. “This report helps confirm the things that we knew.”
The EPA’s draft risk assessment is not an enforceable document, but could guide future actions. It recommends a focus on sources of PFAS chemicals that are upstream of wastewater treatment plants in order to remove treatment at the source.
The agency noted that it plans to set “technology-based limits” on wastewater discharges from industrial sources upstream of wastewater treatment plants, including landfills, under the Effluent Limitations Guidelines program. The agency has been studying PFAS in landfill leachate for several years, and announced in 2023 that new guidelines are “warranted.”
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