Water Sector News
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‘Forever chemicals’ found in fertilizer raise concerns
May 22, 2023
https://www.bayjournal.com/news/pollution/forever-chemicals-found-in-fertilizer-raise-concerns/article_1b3c3d52-f59d-11ed-b772-a389afa82850.html
Spring is planting time for farmers and home gardeners alike. They usually give their soil a dose of fertilizer to help their sprouts grow. For some, that might mean applying biosolids.
Biosolids are created from sewage sludge at wastewater treatment plants that has been treated to remove disease-causing pathogens and some pollutants. Hundreds of thousands of tons of it are produced annually at facilities across the Chesapeake Bay watershed and applied to cropland, pastures and gardens.
Those biosolids enrich the soil with nutrients and organic matter that feed plants.