Sewage Sludge – Biosolids, Animal Manure – PFAS – Microplastics
In 2024, several articles about certain fertilizer products appeared in both agricultural and mainstream literature. As fertilizer prices have increased significantly with the past increase in commodity prices, many agricultural producers have searched for fertilizer replacements that are economically cheaper. In some cases, these searches have resulted in economic disaster for the farmer. The reasons for these disasters are, in many cases, related to the contaminants PFAS and microplastics. Microplastics and PFAS both pose risks to human health, and they have certain differences.
Microplastics are plastic particles less than 5mm (millimeter) in size which result from the breakdown of larger plastic particles or from the production of the plastic. The composition of microplastics are polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polystyrene. These compounds, once ingested by an animal, can cause reduced growth, reproductive failure, and even death of the organism.
PFAS are artificial manufactured chemicals that are used in a variety of consumer products including non-stick cookware, stain-resistant materials, and human cosmetics. PFAS are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances composed of carbon (C), fluorine (F), and often a few other elements. These compounds have harmful effects on human health including increased risk of cancer, liver damage, and immune system dysfunction. PFAS compounds have high persistence in the environment resulting in the name of "Forever Chemicals."
The persistence of microplastics and PFAS in the environment has resulted in an accumulation of these compounds in the waste stream (manure). For example, sewage sludge or biosolids have been monitored for many years for the heavy metal content of those waste materials. However, the PFAS content of these waste materials which were used to replace fertilizer were not monitored. As human waste treatment facilities use more sensitive testing methods, PFAS concentration levels come to light because of the testing methods finding PFAS compounds in the human food chain. Monitoring agencies started to find concentrations of these compounds in human food which caused health problems, and those concentrations were related to the chemical levels found in the waste stream.
The agricultural literature has discussed on several occasions various farm operations that produced PFAS contaminated food products because of the use of waste stream products. All of these operations were closed because of the contamination. Also, nonagricultural literature has discussed similar situations of contamination where they suggested the farmers were trying to "cut corners" by using human and animal waste stream products not generated by the original farmer.
Growers Mineral, Corp. believes this issue could become a very important issue for farmers to address in the future because the various monitoring agencies have started to discuss these contaminants in the chemical fertilizer industry. Again, the philosophy of Dr. V.A. Tiedjens and customer education is an approach that may take longer to build new business, but it ensures that those using GMS, and the Growers approach have success with their agricultural operations.
This is an excerpt from the Early Spring Growers Solution (2025) written by Jim Halbeisen, Director of Research.
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