Atlanta, Ga.-Investigators have turned up a third well with contamination exceeding advisory limits in their search for perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) spread as the result of biosolids being used as fertilizer in at least three northwest Alabama counties. Since initially finding two private wells near land where the biosolids had been applied, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had Decatur Utilities, which operates the treatment plant where PFCs were uncovered, and a group of local industries obtain quarterly samples on wells up to one mile from the application sites. The second quarter final sampling report indicated that one of seven drinking water wells had PFCs above EPA’s provisional health advisory. That residence was quickly provided with bottled water and connected to the public water supply system by the utility and the industries. Their third sampling took place in May, with final results due this summer. In April the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, along with EPA, did blood tests of 155 volunteer residents in the Decatur area and will be sending out notifications toward the end of the year. According to EPA, industries in the Decatur area have made significant progress in reducing and preventing the release of PFCs by stopping their manufacture and phasing out their use, with the goal of eliminating or reducing the intake and output of these contaminates to levels that will not interfere with land application of biosolids. Meanwhile, voters in three affected counties in northwest Alabama counties have expressed their displeasure with using biosolids as fertilizer, adopting bans on the practice by margins as great as 88 percent. The amendment in Colbert County passed by 76 percent. Similar amendments were approved in Franklin County by 88 percent, and in Lawrence County by 77 percent.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain