Toxic Sludge and Fertilizer Conference Press Release

For immediate release

March 29, 1999

Contact: Charlotte Hartman, National Sludge Alliance, 518-329-2120
Jackie Hunt Christensen, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, 612-870-3424
Laurie Valeriano, Washington Toxics Coalition, 206-632-1545

HISTORIC SUMMIT ON TOXIC SLUDGE AND FERTILIZER TAKES PLACE IN SEATTLE

Scientists, farmers and representatives of more than 25 organizations from around the United States convened in Seattle March 25-28 to strengthen their efforts to stop the land application of sewage sludge and the use of toxic industrial wastes in agricultural fertilizers.

Sewage sludge from municipal waste treatment plants and industrial wastes, such as fly ash from pollution-control equipment in steel mills and cement kilns, are routinely applied to crops and farmland. The participants gathered in Seattle discussed the health, agricultural, and environmental implications of the presence of toxins such as dioxin, lead, arsenic and cadmium in sludge and fertilizers.

"Since our formation in 1996, the National Sludge Alliance (NSA) has opposed the EPA's policy of 'linguistically detoxifying' sludge and growing America's food on poisons without telling the public," said Charlotte Hartman, NSA coordinator. "This national gathering afforded an opportunity to share local grassroots strategies that have successfully stopped toxic sludge land application through local bans and moratoriums."

"It is a travesty that the land that grows our food supply has become the dumping ground for poisons we are trying to keep out of the air and water. It's going to take a lot of hard work and many people to change this. That is what this weekend was all about," remarked Laurie Valeriano, a fertilizer activist at the Washington [State] Toxics Coalition.

The sludge and toxic fertilizer summit was a collaborative effort organized by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, National Sludge Alliance, and the Washington Toxics Coalition.

"I hope this will be the first of many occasions when we gather to share scientific research and develop strategies to protect our food and our land from the heavy metals, toxic chemicals and other contaminants that can be present in sewage sludge and toxic fertilizer," added Jackie Hunt Christensen, Food Safety Project Director at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. "It is critical that farmers and consumers gain information about and win control over what is being used to grow our food."

Most of the participants who attended the meeting indicated they will continue to work together to stop the land application and reuse of sewage sludge, and the use of hazardous waste in fertilizer.

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