Showing 1-15 of 166
-
Oregon Legislature approves study of PFAS in sewage sludge used as fertilizer
Policy
20 Jun 2025
“When companies manufacture and use PFAS, they become part of our world,” she said. “We owe it to Oregon farmers, rural communities, and consumers to fully understand what ends up in our water and soils.”
-
A comprehensive analytical approach to monitoring selected emerging contaminant classes in sewage sludge and e-waste from Norway
Science
19 May 2025 | J. Environ. Chem. Ecotoxicol.
Norwegian researchers found that anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge converts PFAS precursors into highly mobile perfluorocarboxylic acids and leaves more persistent long‑chain PFAS, while discarded e‑waste plastics, although less contaminated, still harbor up to 176 ng g⁻¹ of PFAS, indicating that both sludge treatment and electronics recycling inadvertently leak these pollutants.
-
Texas bill seeking to keep toxic “forever chemicals” off farmland misses key deadline
Policy
14 May 2025
Supporters say the bill would protect farmland in Texas. Opponents say limiting PFAS chemicals in biosolids will force water utilities to look at other disposal methods, which will lead to higher utility bills.
-
Sewage sludge fertilizer from Maryland? Virginians say no thanks.
News
8 May 2025 | The New York Times
To protect its food and drinking water, Maryland has started restricting the use of fertilizer made from sewage sludge. At the same time, a major sludge-fertilizer maker, Synagro, has been applying for permits to use more of it across the state border, on farms in Virginia.
-
Stantec to design largest PFAS treatment system in Northwestern U.S.
News
2 May 2025 | WFM
The City of Vancouver, Washington, has selected Stantec to design a treatment system to remove PFAS from a high-volume water station — with the goal of providing cleaner, more reliable drinking water for the community.
-
EPA Weighs N.C. Environmental Harms From Sewage Sludge Used as Fertilizer
News
16 Apr 2025 | Inside Climate News
“Off spec” liquid from Winston Weaver fertilizer fire that was applied on a nearby farm field contained toxic PFAS.
-
The cost to remove PFAS: A review of US water treatment plants
Science
14 Apr 2025 | Journal AWWA
Removing PFAS from U.S. drinking water costs between $0.75 and $8.89 per gallon in capital expenses and up to $0.28 per gallon in annual operations and maintenance, with total costs depending on plant size, location, and treatment type.
-
Elevated PFAS precursors in septage and residential pump stations
Science
25 Mar 2025 | Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett.
Septic systems and residential pump stations—despite lacking industrial input—were found to be significant sources of PFAS contamination, with septic systems showing especially high levels of PFAS precursors like diPAPs, underscoring the need to include precursor analysis in monitoring and to strengthen wastewater treatment strategies for decentralized systems.
-
Release of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances from municipal and construction and demolition waste landfills and wastewater treatment plants in North Carolina
Science
6 Mar 2025 | ACS ES&T Water
The presence of fluoroethers in the leachate from various landfills, as well as in wastewater treatment plants, illustrates that the impact of a fluorochemical plant and fluoropolymer production extends beyond the polymer manufacturing facility.
-
Storm Daniel extreme flood event in Thessaly, Greece: Assessing the pollution status of the impacted coastal marine areas through extended screening of emerging contaminants using LC-TIMS-HRMS
Science
4 Mar 2025 | Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett.
Storm Daniel’s extreme flooding in Thessaly, Greece, led to a significant increase in PFAS contamination in coastal waters and sediments, with legacy PFAS like PFOS and emerging compounds such as ADONA detected at elevated levels, primarily due to wastewater overflow and industrial facility damage.
-
The stubborn “chemical invader”: Challenges and solutions for per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Chinese sewage sludge
Science
17 Feb 2025 | ACS EST Water
Sewage sludge in China acts as both a source and sink for PFAS, with compounds like PFOS accumulating due to limited degradation by conventional wastewater treatments, highlighting the need for innovative extraction, detection, and environmentally sustainable removal methods to reduce associated environmental contamination and health risks.
-
Per‐and polyfluoroalkyl substances in untreated and treated sludge/biosolids from 27 water resource recovery facilities across the United States and Canada
Science
9 Feb 2025 | Water Environ Res.
PFAS were detected in untreated and treated sludge biosolids from 27 water resource recovery facilities across the U.S. and Canada, with post-stabilized biosolids generally showing higher concentrations than pre-stabilized sludge, particularly for 5:3 FTCA and PFOS.
-
Water industry strategies to manufacture doubt and deflect blame for sewage pollution in England
Science
27 Jan 2025 | Nature Water
Water and sewerage companies in England were found to use 22 greenwashing, disinformation, and manufacturing doubt tactics to help diminish their contributions to water pollution.
-
Microcontaminants and microplastics in water from the textile sector: a review and a database of physicochemical properties, use in the textile process, and ecotoxicity data for detected chemicals
Science
17 Jan 2025 | Environ Sci Process Impacts
PFAS were a large proportion of more than 500 contaminants found in wastewater treatment plants processing textile factory waste, raising concern for their ecotoxicity as the treatment plants do not effectively remove many chemicals.
-
‘Forever chemicals’ in sludge used to fertilize farms can pose a health risk to people, EPA says
News
14 Jan 2025 | CNN
Chemicals found in sewage sludge that some farmers use to fertilize fields and pastures can pose a threat to human and animal health, the US Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday.