sludge was toxic doctor testifies

Sludge was toxic, doctor testifies

Web posted Monday, June 16, 2003
By Robert Pavey | Staff Writer

A veterinarian who worked with cattle at Boyceland Dairy for 19 years
told jurors Monday that the
onset of sickness and death in the Burke County herd was nothing short
of "catastrophic."

Dr. William B. Pritchard, of
Louisville, Ga., testified throughout
much of the sixth day of trial in a
$12.5 million lawsuit in which
members of the Boyce family
contend their cattle and land were
poisoned by sewage sludge.

The sludge, a byproduct of
wastewater treatment at the city's
Messerly plant, was supposed to be a
free, beneficial fertilizer - but instead
contained toxic metals that poisoned
land and cattle, the lawsuit contends.

Dr. Pritchard said 71 percent of
cattle tested showed high to toxic
levels of zinc, and 38 percent
revealed high to toxic levels of copper
- all of which he attributed to cattle
feed grown in sludge-treated
pastures.

The city of Augusta denies the claims
and contends the Boyces' problems
are linked to poor farming management practices and various dairy cattle
illnesses including Johne's
Disease.

Under cross-examination by Jim Ellison, one of Augusta's defense
lawyers, Dr. Pritchard
acknowledged that Johne's Disease - characterized by chronic wasting
symptoms - was detected in
the Boyce herd as early as 1993.

However, he added that the disease, in his opinion, was not present at
the Boyce farm in significant
volumes - and that the cause of death and sickness in the cattle was
sewage sludge.

Also Monday - in a hearing outside the presence of jurors - Mr. Ellison
complained to Judge Carlisle
Overstreet that the plaintiffs' witnesses were violating a pre-trial
order by making inappropriate
references to a second lawsuit filed against Augusta by another dairy -
R.A. McElMurray & Sons of
Hephzibah.

Judge Overstreet told the plaintiffs' legal team to instruct their
witnesses to avoid any references to
the other lawsuit, which contains similar allegations over
sludge-related cattle deaths, but has not been
tried.