It doesn't appear that anyone looked at the older studies that told the truth.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The importance of pathogenic organisms in sewage and sewage sludge S Dumontet, A Scopa, S Kerje, K Krovacek - View as HTML - Cited by 5 - Web Search ...foodborne illnesses cause 76 million cases of disease and 5000 deaths each year. ... infections and their consequences on pathogen loading of sewage and sewage sludge. ... J. Air Waste Manage. Assoc, 2001 - awma.org - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov http://www.awma.org/journal/pdfs/2001/6/dumontet.pdf
Studies have also documented the acute toxicity of organic pollutants in sewage sludge (which the EPA does not address in the beneficial use regulation) and that the pollutants in sludge may not leave any indication in the body as to the actual cause of death. (Babish. 1981, 1985). Babish, J. G., D. J. Lisk, G. S. Stoewsand, and C. Wilkinson. 1981. "Organic toxicants and pathogens in sewage sludge and their environmental effects." Spec. Rept. No. 42, N. Y. State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Ithaca, NY. Babish, J. G. 1985. "Health risks associated with the organic fraction of municipal sewage sludges." Bulletin 851. Criteria and Recommendations for land application of Sludges in the northeast. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa. Google scholar finds a lot of damaging "sludge studies" http://scholar.google.com/schhp?sourceid=sch&subid=US-ET-scholarpss
Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 1982 Oct;29(4):379-84.
Acute toxicity of organic extracts of municipal sewage sludge in mice. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7171846&dopt= Citation Babish JG, Johnson B, Brooks BO, Lisk DJ. Related Articles, Links
Acute toxicity of organic extracts of municipal sewage sludge in mice. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 1982 Oct;29(4):379-84. No abstract available. PMID: 7171846 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 1982;11(4):399-405. Related Articles, Links
Safety evaluation of vegetables cultured on municipal sewage sludge-amended soil.
Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 1981 Nov;10(6):673-89. Related Articles, Links
Mercury and selenium content and chemical form in vegetable crops grown on sludge-amended soil.
Cappon CJ.
The content and chemical form of mercury and selenium were assessed for several vegetable crops grown on sludge-amended and untreated soil. Total edible tissue mercury and selenium content of sludge-grown crops averaged four and two times higher, respectively, than that of crops grown on untreated soil. In terms of plant/soil concentration factors, selenium was more readily assimilated by crops than mercury. Crops from sludged and untreated soil had methylmercury levels averaging 14.0 and 4.4%, respectively, of the total tissue mercury content. An average of 24% of the total tissue selenium content was present as hexavalent selenium.
J Environ Sci Health B. 2004 May;39(3):461-71. Related Articles, Links
Environmental and potential health effects of growing leafy vegetables on soil irrigated using sewage sludge and effluent: a case of Zn and Cu.
Tandi NK, Nyamangara J, Bangira C.
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering, University of Zimbabwe, Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe.
The use of sewage sludge and effluent as a source of nutrients and water for crop production is increasing worldwide. A study was conducted in 2001 at Pension farm (near Harare) to determine the effect of long term (>30 yrs) application of sewage sludge and effluent on Zn and Cu accumulation in top soil, uptake of these metals by lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and mustard rape (Brassica juncea L.), and dry matter yield. Application of sewage sludge/effluent significantly (p<0.001) increased total Zn (13.7-1563.9 mg kg(-1)) and Cu (2.5-133.3 mg kg(-1)) in the top soil (0-20 cm depth) compared to the control. Sewage sludge/effluent addition significantly (p<0.001) increased Zn uptake by both test crops, while Cu uptake was significant in the first crop of lettuce and the second crop of mustard rape. Based on the dietary patterns of poor urban households in Zimbabwe, the maximum possible intake of Cu will only constitute 40% the Maximum Daily Intake (MDI). The toxicological implications for Zn will however be more severe, exceeding the MDI by 77% through exposure by lettuce consumption and by 251% consumption of mustard rape. It was concluded that long-term addition of sewage sludge/effluent to soil at Pension farm had increased the concentration of Zn and Cu in top soil to levels that pose environmental concern. The consumption of leafy vegetables produced on these soils pose a health risk to poor communities that reside around the study site, especially children, through possible Zn toxicity.
J Toxicol Environ Health. 1986;18(2):315-9. Related Articles, Links
Cadmium in tissues of Japanese quail fed oat grain grown on municipal sludge-amended soil.
Bache CA, Stoewsand GS, Lisk DJ.
Oats were cultured on soil amended with municipal sewage sludge from Syracuse, N.Y., or on soil alone (control). The oats were fed to male and female Japanese quail through four generations. The extent of absorption of cadmium by the oats and its deposition in tissues and eggs of the first and fourth generations of birds were determined. The tissue levels of cadmium found in the first (F0) generation were kidney greater than liver greater than muscle approximately equal to eggs, with the quail from the sludge-treatment group consistently showing the higher respective tissue levels. Female birds showed consistently higher tissue levels than those of the corresponding males. Kidney and liver tissues and eggs from the fourth generation (F3) quail fed the sludge-treatment diets were also higher than the corresponding controls, but tissues of the male quail were most often higher than the corresponding females.
The proposed use of municipal sewage sludges as soil amendments on agricultural land involves potential health risks. Sludges may contain toxic heavy metals, synthetic organics, and pathogens. Studies of animals inhabiting sludge-amended soils, or foraging on crops grown on such soils, have shown an increased deposition of cadmium and polychlorinated biphenyls in animal tissues, hepatic microsomal enzyme induction, altered blood profiles, appearance of mutagens in blood and excreta, and lowered feed intake, feed efficiency, and milk production. Epidemiologic evidence of possible adverse health effects among sewage plant workers exposed to aerosolized pathogens or synthetic organic vapors during wastewater treatment or land spreading of sludge is still inconclusive. Other possible deleterious environmental effects include pollution of groundwater and toxicity to birds consuming worms or insects inhabiting sludge-treated soils.