“Forever Chemicals” in Sewage Sludge are Reaching Waterways, Stroud Center Finds and New York Times Reports
Earlier this year, a scientific article I had written with my collaborators at the Center for PFAS Solutions was published in Nature Scientific Reports. In it, we discuss the findings from our research on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals,” and how they can contaminate our soil and water with the application of biosolids on farm fields.
Then in March, I spoke with Hiroko Tabuchi, a New York Times reporter, who’s been investigating and detailing the story of PFAS-laden sewage sludge in America. Her series describes how farmers, businesses, families, and livestock who rely on land and water resources contaminated with PFAS are impacted.
Part of our conversation appears in her article for The New York Times. I urge you to check it out. My research shows something important — that biosolids containing PFAS can contaminate not just the farms that use them, but surrounding waters too.
This is a complicated issue, and there are no easy solutions, but one thing is certain: until we understand a problem, we can’t begin to solve it.
Basic scientific research like mine takes years of meticulous work: designing a study to rigorous standards, acquiring funding, gathering data, processing samples, analyzing data, proving the science is up to snuff through peer-reviewed publications, and then finally sharing our findings with the broader scientific community and people like you.
Progress is slow, but the rewards are security, safety, and economic and environmental vitality. Research is the engine that fuels health and prosperity.
Science Today for Water Tomorrow.
My PFAS research, which is ongoing, would not have been possible without federal funding. Now, that landscape is changing. I am committed to seeing this work through, just as my fellow researchers here at the Stroud Center are committed to their equally important scientific investigations.
We promise to support clean fresh water. Will you support us?
