For Immediate Release:
April 1, 2008

Contact:
Evan Thies, 917 715 9265

Residents Concerned Sewer Sludge Toxic

Call for Synagro-Owner Carlyle to Disclose Distribution Practices, Report Testing of Product

PHILADELPHIA, PA-Environmental activists and residents from around Pennsylvania staged a speakout Sunday at a Residual and Biosolids conference, calling for the expanded testing of Synagro sewer sludge, and for public reporting on its toxicity and disposal from the Carlyle Group, Synagro's private equity owner.

"Community members don't know everything that is in the sludge dumped nearby," said Sue Fox of the Shrewsbury Township Environmental Protection Community (STEPCO) "Without more information, I worry about possible health effects and diminished quality of life. Until there is more scientific data and more testing that inspires real confidence, I think sewage sludge land application should be ceased.  Sludge testing by the sewage treatment plants seems to me like the fox watching the chicken house."

"When Synagro was applying food processing waste across the street from my home in Douglass Township, we experienced a terrible smell and volumes of flies-to the point where we didn't want our children to go outdoors to play," said Mary Crocker, a community activist from Douglass Township.  "Synagro stopped applying the food processing waste, but then it began spreading sewage sludge instead.  We have never been given answers to our satisfaction regarding the content of the waste and sludge spread by Synagro."

Anything sent to a sewer can potentially end up in sludge, including toxic substances such as human waste, fertilizer run-off, chemical run-off, or discharges from hospitals or manufacturing plants.  Concerns about the safety of Synagro sludge have intensified since the company's April 2007 buyout by The Carlyle Group.  By taking Synagro private, Carlyle may be able to avoid requirements that Synagro provide certain information about its business practices to the public and federal agencies, including regulatory inquiries or legal complaints against the company resulting from health hazards caused by Synagro products and product distribution.

Several incidents involving Synagro since the buyout have raised concerns about the impact of Synagro sludge.

• In September 2007, officials in Shrewsbury Township, Pennsylvania were flooded with complaints from residents living near a Synagro sludge dumping site.  According to the York Dispatch, residents complained of an odorous stench, nitrates contaminating wells, and repeated infections.
• This month Alabama's Limestone County reportedly reached a settlement to end Synagro's distribution of processed human waste in fields within its jurisdiction, after residents' complaints of a strong odor.  The Commissioner stressed his Department's "rising concerns" about Synagro's product.