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Help Our Children Live a Healthy Life

August 14, 2008

I am a certified school nurse in PA and concerned about the high incidence of asthma in my school district and also neighboring districts. In addition, Autisim is up 700%. That is not the effect of genetics, that is environmental and related to mercury levels, again an effect of dumping sludge. I also am surrounded by sludge farming which is making my family prisoners in our home because the stench makes us nauseated, creates sore throats and headaches on a daily basis when we are outside.

I requested air quality testing from the DOH in PA since when I compared a map created by PA DEP listing the fields that accept sludge and athletic/sports fields for children there is a high correlation between where sludge is dumped and asthma. Recently PA conducted a test of the air quality in my neighborhood however notified the "sludger" and farmer a week before the testing was done because they needed to have a "sample" before testing the sludge effects while being dumped. Obviously when sludge was dumped on "testing day" it was the purest they could find. No one smelled it that day because they were dumping well treated sludge. Now they are back to them dumbing Class B sludge and again we are victims.

I also am concerned about the sludge being dumped down old coal mine shafts. I worry about the waterways being affected by those toxic chemicals. Please help stop these large multimillion dollar companies from destroying our land. There is a reason they no longer dump it in the ocean and it's a matter of time that the land will also be contaminated. Also farmers tell us this is "free ferfilizer". When was the last time that something good was free? Please help our children live a healthy life.

Brenda Loeb RN, BSN, CSN, M.Ed., Lenhartsville PA