This website is sponsored by the Hawaii chapter of CURE to help educate the public and medical community on Maui about the true health and environmental dangers of the sewage sludge co-composting program at the Central Maui Landfill. The Sludging of Paradise
Maui's "Biosolids" Co-Composting Project
Linda Lingle Endangers Public Health and Environment
Co-composting involves the mixture of clean green waste (tree trimmings, grass clippings, etc.) with sewage sludge.
The Harper Collins Dictionary of Environmental Science defines sludge as a "viscous, semi-solid mixture of bacteria- and virus-laden organic matter, toxic metals, synthetic organic chemicals, and settled solids removed from domestic and industrial waste water at a sewage treatment plant."
WorldWatch Institute press release on the paper Recycling Organic Waste states:
"U.S. researchers found more than 60,000 toxic substances and chemical compounds in sewage sludge mixed with household and industrial waste, making it unfit for fertilizer use."Maui's sewage sludge co-composting program is one of the most significant public health and environmental issues our community faces.
Alternatives exist for handling our sludge which can cost less, prevent associated health and environmental hazards, and avoid contamination of the quality clean green waste stream.
Sewage sludge, even after composting, is not safe. Yet it is being spread on our parks and playgrounds in large quantities, unbeknownst to the families who use our public facilities. It is being packaged and sold as "organic" soil amendment for use on food crops.
In October 2003 the County Council finally took a long-overdue closer look at this issue, with an independent audit of the co-composting operation recently completed.
This page is not being actively maintained and there are many more recent articles and resources available regarding sewage sludge composting, land application and related issues, but hopefully these links can serve as a starting point for research.
NEW
Deadly Deceit
New sludge website documents lack of scienceSubscribe to the Sludgewatch-L email list and view the list archives
Sewage Sludge Standards Need New Scientific Basis
National Academies' National Research Council, July 2, 2002The Sludge Report
In These Times, April 12, 2002Office of Inspector General Status Report: Land Application of Biosolids
March 28, 2002Sierra Club Guidance on the Land Application of Sewage Sludges
January 2002'Sludge Magic' at the EPA
By David L. Lewis, Journal of Commerce, January 27, 1999Toxic Avengers
The epa is pushing hazardous sludge as fertilizer. The locals are fighting back.
By Laura Orlando, In These Times, Feb. 1999
Cornell Waste Management Institute Sewage Sludge Page
Numerous papers on the dangers of sludgeAccess the PDF file from Cornell Waste Management Institute:
THE CASE FOR CAUTION
Recommendation for Land Application of Sewage Sludges
and
An Appraisal of the US EPA's Part 503 Sludge Rules
Working Paper, August 1997; revised February 1999Sewage Sludge Homepage (Pennsylvania Environmental Network)
Many resources, fact sheets, etc.National Sludge Alliance Public Fact Sheets
Neurotoxicity from Municipal Sewage Sludge
Raymond Singer, Ph.D., Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, January 1999.New Hampshire Greens - Stop The Sludge
The Sludge Hits the Fan
Chapter 8 of the book Toxic Sludge is Good for You! -- Lies Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry by John C. Stauber and Sheldon Rampton of the Center for Media and Democracy, 1995Let Them Eat Sludge
PR Watch, Third Quarter 1995, by John C. Stauber and Sheldon RamptonReSource Library links to sludge-related Papers
Endangered Planet
Good sludge info site in SwedenA New U.S. Waste Strategy Emerges, Part 1
Rachel's Environment & Health Weekly #560, August 21, 1997New U.S. Waste Policy, Pt. 2: Sewage Sludge
Rachel's Environment & Health Weekly #561, August 28, 1997Drugs in the Water
Rachel's Environment & Health Weekly #614, September 3, 1998The Toxic Substances Control Act
Rachel's Environment & Health Weekly #564, September 18, 1997Drugged Waters
Does it matter that pharmaceuticals are turning up in water supplies?
Science News Online, March 21, 1998"Fear in the Fields: How Hazardous Wastes Become Fertilizer," special series, Seattle Times, July 1997
Special Report on CNN's Moneyline (3-part series):
- More than a bad smell?
Sewage sludge could affect every American
June 25, 1997
- Denver sludge is stinky biz
EPA policy raises troubling questions
June 26, 1997
- EPA defends sludge rules
Selling sludge is a sticky operation
June 27, 1997Turning Toxic Sludge Into Fertilizer
The Christian Science Monitor, June 23, 1997The Real Dirt on Sewage Sludge
Natural Life Magazine #58, November 1997A Trooper, A Dump, And a Tale of Doubt
Christian Science Monitor, June 10, 1998Dumping Sewage Sludge On Organic Farms? Why USDA Should Just Say No
Environmental Working Group, April 30, 1998EPA scientist Dr. David Lewis whistle blower homepage
(See his comments on Part 503 sludge regs in "Blowing the Whistle on EPA's Misuse of Science", Environment News. December 1997.)www.nosludge.org
Antelope Valley resists the disposal of Los Angeles' sewer sludgeDevan's Watch
Massachusetts community fights a sludge plantThe Real Dirt on Sewage Sludge
Natural Life Magazine, November 1997The Sludging of America - Sewage Waste Spread on Farms and Landfills is Causing Chronic Health Problems
E/The Environmental Magazine, May/June 1996New Hampshire Sierra Club Sludge Issue
Letter from CURE Scientific Research Director
Hazardous Health Risks of Sewage Sludge ApplicationEffects of Surfactants on Sludge Dewatering and Pollutant Fate
Water Resources Center University of Delaware, August 1, 1993
Finance Director stalls inquiry of Maui Compost Co.'s methods
Upcountry News, January 13, 1995Recycling coordinator's credentials questioned by CURE activists
Upcountry News, January 13, 1995
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