美国国家公共电台 NPR--Sewage often becomes fertilizer, but the issue is it's tainted with PFAS

Sewage often becomes fertilizer, but the issue is it's tainted¹ with PFAS

Transcript²

A lot of products contain toxic³ PFAS. Some of these "forever chemicals" are ending up in sewage that is turned into fertilizer.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

The water from our sinks, showers and toilets contain the chemicals known as PFAS. As WBUR's Barbara Moran explains, all those so-called forever chemicals are going into wastewater treatment plants. The question now is, where do they go from there?

BARBARA MORAN, BYLINE⁴: It's barely sunrise, and I've already put a lot of stuff down the drain - shampoo, cold coffee, soap, all kinds of stuff.

LAURA ORLANDO: What gets into wastewater is just about everything that we use in our society.

MORAN: Laura Orlando is a civil engineer and senior science adviser⁵ for Just Zero, a nonprofit focused on waste.

ORLANDO: Because it's the pollution sink for what's out there, which is a big deal when we're talking about PFAS.

MORAN: Orlando says because PFAS chemicals are in so many household and industrial products, they end up in wastewater. And in Greater Boston, that wastewater ends up at the Deer Island Treatment Plant, one of the largest in the country. The tanks of sewage sludge are so big there, you have to take an elevator to the top.

DAVID DUEST: So now we're above 124 feet.

MORAN: Plant director David Duest says the sludge is about the consistency⁶ of a frappuccino. And that hum you hear - it's the sound of a giant mixer stirring it.

So right under our feet is, like, how many gallons of...

DUEST: About 3 million gallons of sludge that spends about 22 days on site before it actually gets pumped to our pellet plant for conversion⁷ to a fertilizer.

MORAN: Recycling sewage sludge into fertilizer seems like a good idea, and about half the sludge in the U.S. ends up this way. Janine Burke-Wells is the executive director of the Northeast Biosolids and Residuals⁸ Association.

JANINE BURKE-WELLS: These are organic materials. So they have carbon, which is great. We're putting carbon back into the soil. There's a lot of nutrients⁹. And when you see what the material does for the soil, it is pretty amazing.

MORAN: The problem is all those toxic PFAS chemicals. They get concentrated in the sludge and, therefore, the fertilizer. And there's no cost-effective way to get them out. There are no federal rules that say how much PFAS in fertilizer is too much and just a few states with guidelines. Only one state - Maine - has banned the use of sludge-based fertilizers altogether. Environmental advocates, like Just Zero's Laura Orlando, argue that every state should follow Maine's lead.

ORLANDO: There is no safe concentration of PFAS. And so adding it to soil as a fertilizer - it's a disconnect from the reality of the harm of this family of chemicals. And so the logical thing to do is just not spread it all over the place.

MORAN: But the sludge has to go somewhere, and the other options are not great. Sending sludge to a landfill or burning it costs more money, wastes nutrients and gives off greenhouse gases. And all these methods leave PFAS behind. Sonya Lunder is the senior toxics¹⁰ policy adviser for the Sierra Club, and she says the best long-term solution is to shut off the PFAS pipeline¹¹.

SONYA LUNDER: We need to stop making and using these chemicals in unnecessary products because they pollute the planet at every stage that they pass through.

MORAN: This is a point where both waste industry advocates and environmentalists agree, and the chemical industry may be getting the message. Manufacturing giant 3M says it will stop making PFAS by the end of 2025. Public health scientists say that's great. But there's still concern that without better regulations, these chemicals could simply be replaced by new ones that are just as bad.

For NPR News, I'm Barbara Moran in Boston.

(SOUNDBITE OF COLLAPSE UNDER THE EMPIRE'S "CRAWLING")

1 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

6 consistency   

n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度

参考例句：

• Your behaviour lacks consistency.你的行为缺乏一贯性。
• We appreciate the consistency and stability in China and in Chinese politics.我们赞赏中国及其政策的连续性和稳定性。

7 conversion   

n.转化，转换，转变

参考例句：

• He underwent quite a conversion.他彻底变了。
• Waste conversion is a part of the production process.废物处理是生产过程的一个组成部分。

8 residuals   

剩余误差

参考例句：

• In some cases residuals from these arrivals will stack up to give nearly horizontal alignments. 在某些情况下，这些波至的残余会叠加在一起给出近于水平的同相轴。
• Strong oscillations can occur in the residuals as the number of terms is increased. 随着次数的增加，剩余时差会发生强烈的摆动。

9 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 toxics   

n.毒物（toxic的复数形式）

参考例句：

• Corrosives are generally toxic, so follow the precautions cited in the following section on toxics. 腐蚀剂一般来说是有毒的，所以请遵守下文关于毒品的防范措施。 来自互联网
• Objective To evaluate the diagnostic methods and treatment of gastric ulcer perforating with toxics tubular necrosis. 目的探讨胃溃疡穿孔合并中毒性肾小管坏死的诊断方法与治疗方案。 来自互联网

11 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。