Kansas City, Kan.-Leather tannery sludge probably won’t be available anytime soon – if ever – for use as fertilizer, even though federal and state investigators have concluded that initial indications do not point to any human health risks posed by land application on northwest Missouri farms. National Beef Leathers isn’t saying one way or the other after representatives from EPA and the Missouri Dept. of Natural Resources (MDNR) disclosed at a press conference their findings from a cooperative investigation undertaken in late April because a limited number of farm soil samples showed levels of hexavalent chromium. But the two agencies reported that they will continue further investigation to include more soil testing at other farms beginning immediately. National Beef spokesman Keith Welty said his company stopped land-applying on April 23 and wouldn’t comment further because of current litigation of claims of an association between the sludge and recent cases of brain tumors. Hexavalent chromium, also known as chromium(VI), has been shown to cause some forms of cancer, including nose, sinus, and lung cancers, but EPA and MDHSS are not aware of any studies indicating association with primary brain or central nervous system tumors. The two agencies disclosed at the press conference here that eight soil samples were collected from three farms where sludge from Prime Tanning or National Beef Leathers is known to have been spread. Chromium(VI) was detected in five of the eight samples at levels ranging from 20 to 49 parts per million, whereas both EPA and the state consider levels above 86 parts per million could warrant closer investigation. Now a plan is being developed to take soil samples from 15 additional parcels of farm land for the next round of testing. Lab analysis of those samples is expected to help guide the agencies’ next steps in the investigation.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain