EPA: Sewage Sludge Poses Serious Risks for Farmers

In a new report, the agency confirmed for the first time that even at extremely low levels, PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” in sewage sludge applied to farmland could result in “human health risks.”

By Lisa Held

January 14, 2025

January 14, 2025 – In a new report, the EPA confirmed for the first time that even at extremely low levels, PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” in sewage sludge applied to farmland could result in “human health risks exceeding the agency’s acceptable thresholds for cancer and non-cancer effects.” While its research found the risks vary based on many factors including the climate and geology of a farm, farm practices, and how often sludge is spread, the agency found safety risks after even a single application of the contaminated material in some scenarios.

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Over the past few years, PFAS contamination has increasingly been discovered on farms due to the historic spreading of sludge. The impacts have been most pronounced in Maine, and the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association is currently suing the EPA for failing to regulate the chemicals in sludge. (Link to this post)

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Lisa Held is Civil Eats’ senior staff reporter and contributing editor. Read more >

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A Vermont farm with cows grazing in front. (Photo credit: Gallo Images via Getty Images)

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EPA: Sewage Sludge Poses Serious Risks for Farmers