The E.P.A. Promotes Toxic Fertilizer. 3M Told It of Risks Years Ago.
Source: New York Times
The E.P.A. Promotes Toxic Fertilizer. 3M Told It of Risks Years Ago.
The agency obtained research from 3M in 2003 revealing that sewage sludge, the raw material for the fertilizer, carried toxic "forever chemicals."
By Hiroko Tabuchi
Hiroko Tabuchi reviewed thousands of pages of decades-old documents to report this article.
Dec. 27, 2024 Updated 8:26 a.m. ET
In early 2000, scientists at 3M, the chemicals giant, made a startling discovery: High levels of PFAS, the virtually indestructible "forever chemicals" used in nonstick pans, stain-resistant carpets and many other products were turning up in the nation's sewage. ... The researchers were concerned. The data suggested that the toxic chemicals, made by 3M, were fast becoming ubiquitous in the environment. The company's research had already linked exposure to birth defects, cancer and more.
That sewage was being used as fertilizer on farmland nationwide, a practice encouraged by the Environmental Protection Agency. The presence of PFAS in the sewage meant those chemicals were being unwittingly spread on fields across the country. ... 3M didn't publish the research, but the company did share its findings with the E.P.A. at a 2003 meeting, according to 3M documents reviewed by the The New York Times. The research and the E.P.A.'s knowledge of it has not been previously reported.
Today, the E.P.A. continues to promote sewage sludge as fertilizer and doesn't require testing for PFAS, despite the fact that whistle-blowers, academics, state officials and the agency's internal studies over the years have also raised contamination concerns.
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David Lewis, a former E.P.A. microbiologist, issued early warnings. Will Crooks for The New York Times
In a statement, 3M said that the sewage study had been shared with the E.P.A., and was therefore available to anyone who searched for it in the agency's archives. The agency had sought 3M's research into the chemicals as part of an investigation in the early 2000s into their health effects.
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Hiroko Tabuchi covers pollution and the environment for The Times. She has been a journalist for more than 20 years in Tokyo and New York. More about Hiroko Tabuchi
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/27/climate/epa-pfas-fertilizer-3m-forever-chemicals.html
Is this what they're talking about? From 2022:
Government & Politics
Toxic: 3M knew its chemicals were harmful decades ago, but didn't tell the public, government
https://minnesotareformer.com/2022/12/15/toxic-3m-knew-its-chemicals-were-harmful-decades-ago-but-didnt-tell-the-public-government/
Internal documents show the Minnesota company hid the dangers for decades
By: Deena Winter - December 15, 2022 6:01 am
This is part 2 of 2. Read part 1, about East Metro residents who wonder if 3M chemicals made them sick.
3M toxicologist Richard Purdy did a study in 1998 to see whether any of the company's perfluorochemicals showed up in the blood of eagles and albatrosses. ... That seemed unlikely, given the birds' diet consists mostly of fish. So Purdy was surprised and disturbed when he found levels in their blood similar to those found in human blood. It even showed up in bald eagle nestlings whose only food was fish their parents fed them from remote lakes.
That indicated what Purdy later called "widespread environmental contamination" -- the likelihood the manmade, toxic chemicals were moving through the food chain and accumulating in animals. ... Purdy warned 3M that if wild birds' blood contained the chemicals, then fish-eating mammals -- like otters, mink, porpoise and seals -- could have it, too. A study of rats found they had significant levels of a 3M chemical in their livers, likely from eating fishmeal.
He told company officials in an email there was a significant risk of ecological harm, which should be reported to the EPA. ... In response, 3M managers dispersed the team collecting the data, Purdy alleged. ... Purdy resigned in 1999 and sent his resignation letter to the EPA, informing them that while 3M had disclosed to the EPA that a chemical called PFOS "had been found in the blood of animals," it didn't mention that it was found in the blood of eaglets.
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