Grandview, Texas! Come on down!
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/mar/01/texas-farmers-pfas-killed-livestock
A Texas county has launched a first-of-its-kind criminal investigation into waste management giant Synagro over PFAS-contaminated sewage sludge it is selling to Texas farmers as a cheap alternative to fertilizer.
Two small Texas ranches at the center of that case have also filed a federal lawsuit against Synagro, alleging the company knew its sludge was contaminated but still sold it. Sludge spread on a nearby field sickened the farmers, killed livestock, polluted drinking water, contaminated beef later sold to the public and left their properties worthless, the complaint alleges.
The PFAS levels independent testing found on the farm were “shockingly high”, said Kyla Bennett, policy director for the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility nonprofit, which is assisting in the analyses.
The farms’ drinking water was found to be contaminated at levels over 65m times higher than the federal health advisory for PFOS, one kind of PFAS compound, a Guardian calculation indicates, and meat was as much as 250,000 times above safe levels, the lawsuit alleges.
The complaint alleges the families will likely have to abandon their ranches from which they sell livestock that are later used for beef production.
“It’s devastating and terrifying,” said Mary Whittle, an attorney representing the farmers. “They have developed these properties to be the center of their world … and this is how they make their money.”
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The sludge spread near the Grandview, Texas farms came from the city of Fort Worth’s wastewater treatment facility, about 30 miles north. Sludge was spread on a crop field across the street from the plaintiffs’ farms in late 2022, and the highly mobile chemicals migrated to their properties, the suit alleges.
Soon after, virtually all fish died in a pond from which the family ate what it caught. Testing showed catfish with PFOS levels in their blood as high as 74,000 ppt for PFOS – a level 30,000 times above the dosage at which humans may get sick from consuming.
Around 10 cows and several horses on one farm have died without explanation since the sludge was spread. Testing of a stillborn calf liver found levels as high as 613,000 ppt.
Among other health issues farmers say they have experienced since the sludge was spread are high blood pressure, respiratory problems, cardiac issues, generalized pain, skin irritations and one farmer grew a mass on her thoracic spine that threatens to leave her paralyzed.
Testing of drinking water in the two properties’ wells found levels as high as 268,000 parts per trillion (ppt), far above the .004 ppt limit for PFOS.