Resources for Utilities
biosolidsban
Inter Black Font Example

How Your Waste
Becomes Biosolids

Your poop has potential, but it must be treated first. Your wastewater service provider puts your wastewater through a series of physical and chemical processes to separate the liquids and the solids, and remove harmful bacteria and pathogens.

The water is treated to such a high level, it’s cleaner than the water you would find in the natural environment. That water is often returned to local streams and rivers. In some places, it is pumped back into groundwater to replenish it and in other places, this highly treated water is reused for irrigation, cooling, and in some places, it becomes a source for drinking water.

The solids that are left over are treated and dried until they become a nutrient-rich soil-like material we call biosolids. 

Automatic Image Carousel
Inter Black Font Example

BENEFITS OF BIOSOLIDS

Biosolids can be beneficial for communities


Depending on where you live, biosolids are either incinerated or burned; buried in a landfill; or applied to the land as a nutrient-rich fertilizer. Sometimes, biosolids are applied to forests charred by fires to help replenish nutrients. Biosolids can also be further processed to generate natural gas or become a source of heat or power.

The majority of biosolids generated in the U.S. are applied to land. While sometimes biosolids are used in forests, most of biosolids that are land applied are put on farmlands as fertilizer.

Biosolids are a great natural alternative to manufactured fertilizers because they improve soil health, increase crop growth, restore nutrients to lands, and improve the soil’s ability to absorb and hold water.


But don’t take our word for it, listen to what this farmer has to say.


piechart


Inter Black Font Example

PFAS AND BIOSOLIDS


PFAS and Biosolids
  • What are PFAS?
  • Where do PFAS come from?
  • Does food grown in soils with biosolids contain PFAS?
Image for Nav

You may have heard about a class of chemicals called PFAS. These chemicals are found in an abundance of products we use every day, to make them stain-resistant, water-repellant, and nonstick. PFAS are therefore found in everything from clothing and furniture fabrics, to carpeting, food packaging, makeup, and fire-fighting foam. PFAS have been added to products for decades, but scientists are only now learning about their pathways from products to people, and the health effects they create. PFAS are so common and abundant in our environment and the products we interact with, that studies have shown that most adults have some levels of PFAS in their blood.

Image for PFAS sources PFAS are released into the environment in many ways, such as through the products that contain them, through improper disposal by manufacturers, and by fire-fighting foam when it is used. Because PFAS are a part of so many products, they are often found in soil and water samples, too.

Your wastewater service provider receives water from homes and businesses that contains PFAS, likely from our bodies, dishes, and clothes. While wastewater systems were not designed to specifically treat or remove PFAS, your providers are prepared to – and have already begun to – study and assess PFAS’ impacts on their treatment facilities, the quality of the water they discharge, and the amount of PFAS that may be found in biosolids.

It’s possible that trace amounts of PFAS could be found in foods grown where biosolids were used as fertilizer. But PFAS can also end up in our food from chemical fertilizers, insecticides, and rainfall.

The FDA has not found PFAS in 97% of food samples (both fresh and processed) since it started testing for them in 2019. Only two out of 3,200 meat and poultry samples tested by the USDA had detectable levels of PFAS. In the rare cases when PFAS are detected in biosolids at concerning levels, it’s because of an industrial or manufacturing process nearby.

Our members, your wastewater providers, are some of your community’s biggest protectors of your health and the environment, and they are concerned about PFAS. Together, we are encouraged by the growing body of science on PFAS that will help us make smart and practical decisions. We have, and continue to, advocate for laws that focus on reducing everyone’s PFAS exposure.

Screenshot 2024-12-12 at 6.36.27 PM

BIOSOLIDS ARE SAFE

 

 

Biosolids have been determined to be a safe, natural alternative to chemical fertilizer

Despite the potential for biosolids to contain some level of PFAS, federal, state, and local governments as well as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Food and Drug Administration all support using biosolids as fertilizer. Today, approximately 60 percent of biosolids that are created are applied to soils in the U.S., and they have been widely used on farms and other lands for decades.

Thousands of research publications over the last 45 years and two major reviews by the National Academy of Sciences have found that using biosolids as fertilizer presents “negligible risk” to public health.

Your risk of a bad health outcome from eating food grown with biosolids is very low

If you eat foods grown with biosolids as fertilizer, it is unlikely that you will be exposed to more PFAS than you already are from your use of everyday products.

The risk of exposure to PFAS in food that’s been grown in biosolids is very low. In fact, if lettuce was grown in PFAS-tainted biosolids, a 154-pound person would need to consume 2 pounds of lettuce every day, over their lifespan, to see negative effects.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Wastewater utilities are among your community’s biggest protectors of health and the environment. They take their jobs seriously and share your concerns about PFAS. They are working hard to reduce PFAS from entering the wastewater system in the first place by controlling PFAS at the source and by cracking down on industries that may be sending PFAS to the wastewater treatment plant.

But they need your help too – in making more informed decisions about the kinds of products you buy and use at home that get washed down the drain. Look for PFAS-free labels when you shop. Another way you can help is to ask your state and federal elected leaders to ensure that the “polluter pays” when it comes to addressing PFAS, so that the companies that manufacture and profit from PFAS are the ones that bear the cost of PFAS cleanup, not your local wastewater utility or you as a utility customer.

Back To Top