EPA Sanctions Use of Toxic Waste to Make Fertilizer
Many of us have been surprised and shocked in recent years to learn about the use of mercury as a preservative in infant vaccines. But what if we discovered that this is just the tip of the iceberg? Yet another disturbing reality is that industry has used fertilizer as a way to dump toxic industrial wastes laced with PCB’s, dioxins, toxic metals and more. This practice has recently received the stamp of approval from our government’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The full document containing the EPA’s ruling on the matter can be found at www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-WASTE/2002/July/Day-24/f18405.htm.
Although the document is fairly long, it is worth reading to grasp some of the intricacies of government thinking that can lead to the poisoning of Americans citizens. For example, the EPA goes into a detailed explanation of the difference between what they define as “sham” and “legitimate” recycling of toxic wastes. In “sham” recycling a toxic waste is simply dumped into a fertilizer. This is banned and punishable by law. In “legitimate” recycling, however, a desirable feature of the waste is identified before it is dumped, although it’s really the same waste we are talking about. For example, since zinc is desirable in fertilizers, if the toxic waste happens to contain zinc dust from an industrial process, the waste is considered acceptable and can be dumped legally.
Further into the document, the EPA claims it is powerless to limit this practice and that if it tried to do so, or made the practice more costly to industry by limiting how much poison
can be dumped this way, “such a regulatory approach would likely result in a complete elimination of hazardous secondary materials as a source of zinc to make fertilizers.” Frankly, that would be just fine with me!
Finally, the EPA points out that it received more that 1,000 communications complaining about its policy. Although the EPA is conscious of the adverse health effects of exposure to toxic chemicals, “with regard to fertilizers, much of this concern is apparently misplaced.” Of course the EPA does not quote any study to substantiate this claim, quite simply because no study was ever performed. Even though these are known poisons, for some mysterious reason it’s really OK for our fruits and vegetables to be grown in them.
As with mercury in vaccines, we have the power to put an end to this policy and I encourage all of my readers to write, e-mail or phone the EPA and your congressman to let them know what you think about their approval of growing our food in poison. This type of practice is affecting the health of every one of us, but especially our children. Today’s children are not only suffering a well-documented epidemic of autism, they are also dealing with a epidemics of cancer, ADD, ADHD, depression, bipolar disorder, Type 2 (adult onset) diabetes, asthma, skin disorders, etc. All of these conditions have in common one thing: they are caused by exposure to environmental toxins. Similar epidemics are seen in the adult population, but children are always the most vulnerable to the effects of environmental poisons. Although population statistics continue to show a trend towards longer life, most of the people now living to a ripe old age had their formative years long before today’s chemical soup was served!
