Read the full article by Michelle Gamage (The Tyee)
“British Columbia doesn’t currently test agricultural soils for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS or forever chemicals, which have been linked to serious health concerns. Teflon, known for its use in non-stick cookware, is a well-known PFAS.
South of the border, Maine and Michigan have started testing farmland for PFAS and have been working on remediating contaminated sites. Agricultural testing elsewhere in the country is minimal, according to reporting by Civil Eats.
PFAS get into agricultural fields when the water is contaminated, if the soil was previously contaminated from a nearby factory or when farmers spread biosolids on their crops. Biosolids are a highly nutritious plant fertilizer made from the solids in human sewage. That’s right — poop.
In 2022, Maine outlawed the use of biosolids as a fertilizer in an effort to reduce agricultural PFAS contamination.”
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