Sludge in the Triangle & what you can do

Sludge in the Triangle

Seventy-nine North Carolina counties have farms that are sprayed with sewage sludge.

Here are the totals of sludge applied on fields in nearby counties from 2005–2007, the latest figures available. The sludge was spread on the fields but not physically worked into the soil.

Some fields didn’t report the total acreage permitted, so these are estimates.

ORANGE COUNTY Includes fields of corn, fescue, rye grass, soybeans and wheat

Year	Number of fields	Acres utilized	Total Dry Tons	Total Gallons	Dry Tons Per Acre
2005	83	1227.02	4772.38	13,269,763	3.89
2006	97	1585.83	5358.87	18,624,170	3.38
2007	126	1817.76	5863.2	19,319,988	3.23

CHATHAM COUNTY All sludge was applied on fescue, typically grown for pasture and hay for livestock

Year	Number of fields	Acres utilized	Total Dry Tons	Total Gallons	Dry Tons Per Acre
2005	43	654.3	1809.4	13,601,000	2.77
2006	48	877.49	2115.98	17,419,000	2.41
2007	62	1151.33	3153.35	19,982,500	2.74

ALAMANCE COUNTY All sludge was applied on fescue, typically grown for pasture and hay for livestock

Year	Number of fields	Acres utilized	Total Dry Tons	Total Gallons	Dry Tons Per Acre
2005	45	794.90	2,325.127	15,687,922	2.93
2006	51	969.28	2,369.885	18,350,400	2.44
2007	67	969.20	2,352.105	19,789,200	2.43

Source: NC DENR

What can you do?

Think upstream. Keep chemicals out of sludge by choosing safer household and personal care products. Learn more at www.healthylegacy.org/consumerpower.cfm.
Buy “certified organic” when possibleespecially meat and dairyand vegetables known to take up sludge contaminants, including roots and tubers such as potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots, and leafy vegetables such as lettuce and spinach. Federal organic standards prohibit sewage sludge application to crop- or pastureland for a minimum of three years immediately preceding harvest.
Support local growers who don’t use sludge. Absent labeling requirements, check with the farmer.
Wash and peel produce to help reduce (but not eliminate) exposure to disease-causing organisms and chemicals.
Avoid home use of sludge-based fertilizers. Some products are made entirely from sludge. Others are a blend of sludge with materials such as leaves, sawdust and food waste. Most sludge products are only marketed locally or regionally. Others, such as Milorganite®, are sold in home and garden stores nationwide. Find the names of known sludge-based fertilizer products at www.healthobservatory.org.
Choose landscapers wisely. Screen landscape/lawn care companies before hiring to make sure they will not use sludge-based fertilizer products on your lawn or garden.
Encourage elected officials to ban use of sewage sludge on agricultural land and home gardens; in the absence of a ban, require labeling of food produced from sludge-amended soil and promote policies that incentivize manufacturers to create safer products using clean, innovative technologies that do not put toxic chemicals into the waste stream.