In partnership with the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, 

MABA presented a webinar for news organizations

on Tuesday, October 24, 2023

View the webinar by clicking: https://vimeo.com/877896782,

and enter the password: MABA102423pna

About the webinar:
In response to reports of potential or reported PFAS contamination, many communities across the country quickly implicate land-applied biosolids as the cause, often calling for outright prohibition. Whereas banning land application of biosolids may make people feel safer, the reality is that this action will, in practically all instances, have minimal impact on exposure to PFAS. Long standing regulations prohibit land application of biosolids near drinking water wells and other environmentally sensitive areas.

To provide some context, a recent study comparing PFAS in biosolids to other commonly available products was completed. PFAS concentrations in biosolids (50-250 parts per billion (ppb) were found to be many thousands of times lower than in food packaging materials (867,000 ppb); hundreds of times lower than in products like ketchup (58,000 ppb), organic tomato sauce (21,000 ppb), and cosmetics (10,500 ppb); and more than two times lower than the levels measured in common household dust (525 ppb).

Banning land application of biosolids would require utilities across the country to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure. The farming community will also be deprived by the loss of an affordable, renewable fertilizer source. Costs that will inevitably be passed onto the rate payer and consumer. With the understanding that land application bans will do little to reduce our day-to-day exposure to PFAS, communities need to fully appreciate the costs vs. benefits of such actions.

This presentation examines these issues in more depth in an effort to inform people of the benefits of land applied biosolids vs. the consequences of ineffectual land application bans in the name of reducing PFAS exposure.

Presentations:
Presentation 1: Biosolids – What is it? Why should we care?
Speaker: William Toffey, Principal, Effluential Synergies, LLC
 
Presentation 2: Research and analysis – PFAS in biosolids 
Speaker: Erica McKenzie, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Temple University
 
Presentation 3: Incidence and Mobility of PFAS in Soil from Land Application Sites Across the United States
Ian Pepper, PhD, Professor of Environmental Microbiology, University of Arizona
 
Presentation 4: Biosolids & PFAS Considerations: A Utility Perspective
Malcolm Taylor, PhD, PE, Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission

Questions? Contact Mary Firestone at [email protected] or 845-901-7905.