The company that helps produce the Capital Regional Districtsa国际传媒檚 (CRD) biosolids rejects claims its similar products made Texas farmers and their animals sick.
Synagro Technologies is the majority equity holder of the contractor that built the regional districtsa国际传媒檚 residual treatment facility at Hartland landfill. It also has a 20-year contract to operate the facility that makes the dried treated-wastewater granules.
In a civil lawsuit brought forward in February, five Johnson County, Texas, plaintiffs claim their farms were polluted by toxic chemicals in a biosolids-based fertilizer produced by Synagro after a neighbouring property spread the product on its crops. The farmers allege the fertilizer contained high levels of PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkl substances) that made them sick with various illnesses, led to their animals dying, polluted their water and rendered their properties worthless.
Synagro responded to the claims in a statement that was presented to the CRD board last week.
In the statement, the company said it will be contesting the lawsuit as it denies the allegations, calling them unproven and novel. The company added that plaintiffs have amended their initial complaint to sa国际传媒渄rastically reducesa国际传媒� the concentration of PFAS that was alleged to come from the Synagro product.
A lawyer for the farmers said they quickly amended the complaint to fix decimals that had been misplaced due to an inadvertent conversion error, but emphasized the PFAS values in the lawsuit are still excessively high.
sa国际传媒淥ur clients are still seeing impacts we attribute to these PFAS levels, including another cow that died on the property this week,sa国际传媒� Mark Guerrero told Black Press Media in a statement. sa国际传媒淪ynagrosa国际传媒檚 products have not sa国际传媒榖enefitedsa国际传媒� our clients in any way, but have impacted every aspect of their lives.sa国际传媒�
PFAS are considered forever chemicals that are linked to cancer, several diseases and other harmful impacts on humans and animals. The farmerssa国际传媒� lawsuit cited the companysa国际传媒檚 own public reports that acknowledge its products may have PFAS present in them.
sa国际传媒淥ne of our industrysa国际传媒檚 challenges to move toward a more circular world, is the potential of unwanted substances in biosolids, like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS),sa国际传媒� the companysa国际传媒檚 2022 sustainability report states.
The biosolids applied to the land neighbouring the plaintiffssa国际传媒� properties met all the necessary requirements, Synagrosa国际传媒檚 statement said.
sa国际传媒淯SEPA (Environment Protection Agency) continues to support land application of biosolids as a valuable practice that recycles nutrients to farmland and has not suggested that any changes in biosolids management is required,sa国际传媒� the company said.
The company defended the practise of applying biosolids to the land to supplement growth. Synagro called biosolids a nutrient-rich end-product of the wastewater treatment process that are safe for agricultural land application.
sa国际传媒淏iosolids provide multiple benefits to overall soil quality and health, including improved moisture absorption ability, recycling of micro and macro nutrients, carbon sequestering, reduced nutrient leaching, and lower use of industrially produced chemical fertilizers,sa国际传媒� Synagro said.
Guerrero, the farmerssa国际传媒� lawyer, called Synagrosa国际传媒檚 position that its products present little risk to human and environmental health blatantly false. He pointed to the EPAsa国际传媒檚 move last week to set legally enforceable contaminant levels for several PFAS compounds known to occur in drinking water.
The CRD doesnsa国际传媒檛 allow agricultural land application but has been spreading biosolids at its Hartland landfill site in recent years. Itsa国际传媒檚 also been burying much of the treated sewage pellets in the dump itself, which goes against provincial requirements.
Those practises have been criticized by local coalitions sa国际传媒� made up of residents, farmers and businesses sa国际传媒� that are concerned about biosolids containing PFAS, pharmaceuticals, microplastics and other contaminants.
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