Neil L. Rudenstine
President, Harvard University
Massachusetts Hall
Cambridge, MA 02138
Dear President Rudenstine:
We the undersigned are shocked and dismayed that Harvard University plans to poison the Medical School quad lawn with sewage sludge and is sponsoring a public relations event to promote the land application of this dangerous material in spite of the fact that the US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that there is no scientific consensus that the land application of sewage sludge is safe.
On March 20, 2000, the USEPA Office of the Inspector General, in an Audit Report, found that "EPA cannot assure the public that current land application practices are protective of human health and the environment."
Sewage sludge contains heavy metals, pathogens, toxic chemicals, radioactive materials, and countless other toxins that degrade water, air, land, and the food supply.
Given these facts, we don't think Harvard University should be putting its students and neighbors at risk by land applying this material in the Harvard Medical School Quad.
Furthermore, we feel that Harvard University's sponsorship of this one-sided public relations event will have the effect of helping to deceive an unsuspecting public that land application of sewage sludge is safe. Therefore, we are also asking that Harvard University sponsor, with the same amount of resources and publicity used for this promotional event, an event that addresses the documented hazards of land application of sewage sludge.
Thank you in advance for your immediate attention to this very important matter.
Sincerely,
Center for Food Safety
Washington, DC
Center for Health, Environment and Justice
Washington, DC
Center for Sludge Information
Atascadero, CA
Citizens Against Sludge
Humphreys County, TN
Citizens for a Future New Hampshire
Hopkington, NH
Clean Water Action / New England
Boston, MA
Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides
North Sandwich, NH
Coalition for Sludge Education
Turlock, CA
Colorado Citizens Action Network
Denver, CO
Ecology Center
Ann Arbor, MI
Farm Aid
Somerville, MA
Friends of the Earth
Washington, DC
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Minneapolis, MN
International Center for Technology Assessment
Washington, DC
National Sludge Alliance
Copake, NY
Northeast Organic Farmers Association/ Massachusetts (NOFA)
Barre, MA
Organic Growers Association
Little Marais, MN
Pennsylvania Environmental Network
Phoenixville, PA
The ReSource Institute for Low Entropy Systems
Boston, MA
Rural Vermont
Montpelier, VT
Safe Food and Fertilizer
Seattle, WA
Save Sierra Blanca
Sierra Blanca, TX
Shenandoah County Alliance Against Toxic Sludge
Mt Jackson, VA
Sierra Blanca Legal Defense Fund
Sierra Blanca, TX
Stop Sludge In Stuyvesant
Stuyvesant, NY
TOXIC
Duluth, MN
Toxics Action Center
Boston, MA
Vermont Public Interest Group (VPIRG)
Montpelier, VT
Background Information
Harvard Sludge Press Release, May 3, 2000
Information about sewage sludge and the hazards of its application on land from the ReSource Institute
Links to web sites that address the health and environmental hazards of sewage sludge
Inspector General's Audit Report on Sludge, March 20, 2000 Congressional Hearings, March 22, 2000, "EPA's Sludge Rule: Closed Minds or Open Debate?" "The hearing will explore allegations that EPA scientists who disagree with EPA's science associated with the sludge rule were ignored or, worse, subjected to harassment. Even more disturbing are documented reports of intimidation directed at private citizens who express concerns about EPA sludge policies and the science behind those policies."New England Biosolids and Residuals Association, co-sponsors of the sludge promotional event and unabashed promoters of the land application of toxic sludge.Their press release on the May 3rd event is available here.
ReSource
179 Boylston Street
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 USA
info@riles.org
Last updated: 18-May-2000
Document URL: http://www.riles.org/Harvard.htm