Can humans withstand exposures to increasingly complex combinations of chemicals and biological agents? Join the Northwest Toxic Communities Coalition for a panel discussion about sewage sludge fertilizer, its use in agriculture, and its long-term effects on our environment and health.
Panelists:
- Morten Alexander, Co-founder of Protect Mill Canyon Watershed
- Ed Kenney, Nisqually Delta Association of Olympia, WA
- David L. Lewis, PhD, Retired EPA Office of Research and Development
- Patricia Martin, former mayor of Quincy, WA
Panelist Specialties:
The Irreversible Impact Widespread Sewage Sludge Has on our Planet’s Ability to Support Life
Dr. David L. Lewis retired from the U.S. EPA in 2003 as a senior-level Research Microbiologist with 32 years of service. He also served on the Graduate Faculty of the University of Georgia. His research on public health has been published in Nature, Lancet and other leading scientific and medical journals. Dr. Lewis’s book, Science for Sale, covers the history of affects of sewage sludge. Dr. Lewis received the 2000 Science Achievement Award by the EPA, and the 2018 Distinguished Service Award by the Sierra Club and the Center for Environmental Law and Policy..
Industrial Waste Spreading
Patty Martin is the former Mayor of Quincy WA, founder of Save Our Soil, and Chair of Northwest Toxic Communities Coalition. The book, Fateful Harvest (2001), chronicled her fight to expose the use of hazardous waste-derived fertilizers in agriculture and the chemical industry’s efforts to shut her up. In 2013, Patty received the Environmental Justice Award from the Sierra Club and has fought against land application of sewage waste in Washington state. Martin spoke on the non-sludge hazardous wastes used in fertilizer (coal ash, mining waste, nuclear fuel processing waste, etc.). Sixty times as much of it is used on food compared to sludge.
3 Adventures Organizing Citizens to Stop Sewage Sludge Land Spreading
Ed Kenney is a consummate environmental activist who has organized teams of volunteers to clean up the debris and planted trees for large restoration projects. He was awarded Conservationist of the Year by Black Hills Audubon Society in 1992. More recently, Ed brokered a multi-million dollar agreement between Joint Base Lewis-McChord military base, the City of DuPont, CalPortland and six conservation groups to restore over three miles of Sequalitchew Creek. He has fought against land application of sewage waste in Washington state.
A Successful Anti-Sludge Campaign in Eastern Washington
Morton Alexander is a community organizer and retired state employee. He tends to his home orchard and is a neighbor to other organic food producers in Mill Canyon, Lincoln County, WA.
Presented by the Northwest Toxic Communities Coalition & the University of Washington Superfund Research Program.