The Wednesday Wetness

Chesapeake Waterkeepers, Waterkeepers Find Widespread PFAS Contamination Near Wastewater Treatment Plants and Biosolids Sites

Recent findings reveal a troubling level of PFAS contamination at sites associated with wastewater treatment and biosolids application. Specifically, 95% of locations downstream from wastewater treatment plants and 80% of sites where biosolids are applied to land showed elevated PFAS levels. Even more concerning, 98% of all sampling locations both upstream and downstream across the 19 states showed signs of PFAS presence, indicating how widespread the pollution has become.

PFAS, or per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a large group of human made chemicals that resist breaking down in the environment. The study identified several detected PFAS compounds at WWTPs, such as PFOA, PFHxA, PFBS, PFPeA, PFHxS, and PFOS. Meanwhile the biosolid samples most frequently contained PFBA, PFBS, PFPeA, PFHxA, and PFHpA. These findings suggest that both wastewater treatment plants and land application of treated sludge and key pathways for PFAS dispersal.

Just the fact that you can measure it, doesn't mean it is harmful. As Paracelsus first noted in 1538,  "Alle Dinge sind Gift, und nichts ist ohne Gift; allein die Dosis macht, dass ein Ding kein Gift ist." Or in English: All things are poison, and nothing is without poison; the dosage alone makes it so a thing is not a poison. Often shortened to "The Dose Makes the Poison."