Sludge Fertilizer Program Spurs Concerns

April 13th, 2008 in Space & Earth / Environment
Sludge Fertilizer Program Spurs Concerns (AP)

Chris Peot shows biosolids, applied to a farm, in Mitchells, Va., Wednesday, June 6, 2007. No one can say exactly what is in sludge. It's a constantly changing brew of human, commercial, hospital and industrial wastes. The primary organic ingredient is human excrement, which proponents say makes sludge a useful fertilizer. Critics worry about the metals and pathogens that remain. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

(AP) -- Scientists using federal grants spread fertilizer made from human and industrial wastes on yards in poor, black neighborhoods to test whether it might protect children from lead poisoning in the soil. Families were assured the sludge was safe and were never told about any harmful ingredients.

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