To the Editor:
Your June 9 report about toxic sludge containing PFAS chemicals on farmland is spot-on, timely, and extensively researched [“Advocates call on state to mitigate toxic sludge used on farmland”].

We witnessed the dumping of several tractor-trailer loads of “biosolids” on farmland adjacent to our former residence on Main Street in the village of Schoharie in May 2021. The bio solids — including human waste — were trucked into the state from a sewage sludge facility in Massachusetts and were dumped in piles at the direction of the landowner.

The sludge piles were situated within the village in a flood plain with a history of frequent flooding from the nearby Schoharie Creek, which is a tributary of the Mohawk River. The sludge-contaminated land is adjacent to homes and corn fields, and is located less than two miles upstream from Schoharie Valley Farms, a regionally known vegetable farm.

The sewage sludge piles were left for weeks while the smell permeated the village in sickening wafts. Eventually, the piles began to smoke and combust, requiring a full-on response from fire departments, ambulances, and spill personnel from the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation until the dump fire was extinguished many hours later.

The remaining sludge was later spread out on some of Schoharie’s best farmland.

We do not know if the sludge had been tested for PFAS chemical contaminants; however, tests of many sewage sludge facilities have shown high levels of PFAS chemicals. There is a probability that PFAS chemicals are in the sewage sludge that was spread on Schoharie soils.

The Sierra Club defines PFAS chemicals as “per-and-poly-fluoroalkyl substances widely used in industrial chemicals, many of which are toxic to people, that persist for decades in the environment.” They are considered to be “forever chemicals.”

Farmland is the foundation of our food chain. It is important that New York state enact regulations to protect our food supply from this insidious contaminant.

According to the Sierra Club’s recent research on PFAS chemicals spread on farmland, “Neighbors of farms applying such biosolids as fertilizer complain of illness, contaminated water supplies and wells, and loss of property values and quality of life.”

In the interest of protecting the health of residents and preventing these known poisons from contaminating our food and water supplies, it is time for our state to halt the practice of allowing the spread of untested bio solids on our farmlands and establish a public registry of lands where PFAS/biosolids are already known to have been applied.

While it appears that the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets is ignoring the health dangers that PFAS chemicals bring to the state’s farmlands, we urge New York State DEC to adopt sensible standards for the testing, reporting, and regulation of these toxic substances in the interest of public health.

We hope that Schoharie and other communities in rural New York State do not suffer the afflictions that befell Hoosick Falls where PFOA contamination ruined the water supplies of many thousands of residents.

Our state’s farmlands require protection from the unintentional or unscrupulous spreading of long-lasting PFAS-laden sewage sludge. The state needs policies to safeguard public health, protect the environment, and hold polluters accountable; furthermore, New York State must empower the state’s DEC, the Department of Health, and Agriculture and Markets to test all biosolid sludge intended for farmland application.

Len and Meg Berdan

Slingerlands