Group protests use of sewage sludge on Boston parks

Group protests use of sewage sludge
Calls it dangerous as park fertilizer

By Gloria Rodriguez, Globe Correspondent, 8/8/2002

The battle to keep sewage out of Boston Harbor is mostly ended, but now environmentalists say the unwelcome substance has invaded another important resource - city parks.

The Boston Parks Department is using sewage sludge as fertilizer in dozens of city parks, including the Boston Common. But environmentalists, in a news
conference yesterday, said it contains toxins that could be dangerous to pets and children, especially when combined with pesticides.

''I just don't know why in a heavily trafficked area where there are a lot of kids, why that has to be the kind of fertilizer that's used,'' said Susan Worgaftik, who says her 2-year-old dog gets sick every time she drinks rainwater from puddles in Southwest Corridor Park.

The sewage sludge was created by the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority in 1991 as a way to recycle the material instead of dumping it into the harbor. The sludge contains nutrients such as calcium, nitrogen, and iron, as well as a variety of metals.

So far, a grass-roots group, the Neighborhood Pesticide Action Committee, has gathered 600 signatures from Jamaica Plain residents asking the parks department not to apply the sludge at Southwest Corridor Park, which runs from the South End to Forest Hills. The group suggests park workers use safer alternatives that are disease resistant.

Consistent exposure to toxins in the sludge can cause headaches and dizziness and can lead to long-term health problems such as learning disabilities, said Sherry Ayres, field director for the Toxics Action Center, a Boston-based environmental group.

The MWRA, however, said the fertilizer has received Environmental Protection Agency approval and is used on citrus crops, wheat farms, golf courses, and parks nationwide. ''It's safe for use on lawns and garden vegetables,'' said MWRA spokesman Jonathan Yeo. ''If it meets the standard, it's safe to use.''

No park user has complained about any ill effects from the fertilizer, said Allan Morris, superintendent of the Southwest Corridor Park, which is run by the Metropolitan District Commission. The park uses the fertilizer because it has a high concentration of nutrients that promote grass growth and because it is free, Morris said.

Using the sludge as fertilizer is considered a better option than burning it or burying it in a landfill, Yeo said.

Although the sludge meets federal regulations, activists said the fertilizer still contains dangerous metals.

''If you put it over 60 acres, that's a lot of heavy metals even though it's within legal limits,'' said Margaret Connors, a founder of the Neighborhood Pesticide Action Committee. ''When it dries up and becomes dust, the wind carries all those heavy metals through the air and what you end up with is breathing those substances into your lungs.''

Steven Glickel, a volunteer at the local baseball youth league, said residents need to be assured their children are safe playing on the grass.

''This is really the only open space kids come to,'' he said. ''This is the closest green space to a very highly concentrated area. This is a very serious concern in the whole community.''

This story ran on page B3 of the Boston Globe on 8/8/2002.
© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.