KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Sludge containing a toxic chemical and used as fertilizer on area farms does not pose a public health concern, government agencies reported Wednesday.
However, a second round of soil tests is planned for 15 farms this month, officials said at a news conference held at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regional office, said Bill Rice, the agency’s acting regional administrator. Those tests will attempt to determine differences in the presence of chromium 6 among fields with high, moderate and low amounts of spreading.
Initial tests on soil samples taken from four area farms shows that the sludge — obtained from a South Side tannery — does not appear to indicate health risks posed by hexavalent chromium, also known as chromium 6. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducted the tests, with assistance from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The tests showed the presence of chromium 6 below governmental screening levels that would lead to health concerns, according to natural resources director Mark Templeton.
“Therefore, no action is necessary for local citizens at this time,” said Scott Clardy, the health department’s section chief for disease control and epidemiology.
A meeting to allow the public to review the results and ask questions is set for 6:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Fulkerson Center on the Missouri Western State University campus.
All three agencies opened their cooperative investigation in late April, after environmental activist Erin Brockovich told Cameron area residents about a lawsuit that alleged that Prime Tanning Corp. and National Beef Leathers — current owner of the tannery — provided free sludge to farms in Buchanan, Andrew, Clinton and DeKalb counties as fertilizer. The lawsuit alleges the sludge contains hexavalent chromium, which is a known carcinogen. The companies had allegedly used chromium 6 to strip hair from beef hides.
Despite the low concentrations of chromium 6, National Beef will still be penalized by the state for other violations discovered during the plant inspection. The company’s exemption to apply sludge will therefore be withdrawn, Mr. Templeton said.
“Due to test results revealing unanticipated levels of hexavalent chromium in sludge and soils, National Beef Leathers must immediately cease all land application activities of sludge or fertilizer products,” he said.
An inspection of the tannery revealed that National Beef committed various violations pertaining to hazardous waste, such as residues discovered in tanks and containers.
National Beef did not comment on the findings or personnel matters due to pending litigation involving the company.
“We really don’t have anything else to add,” said spokesman Keith Welty.
Brian Madden, an attorney who helped file the wrongful-death lawsuit on behalf of two Cameron area plaintiffs, was unavailable for comment. Other area residents have filed similar lawsuits against National Beef and Prime Tanning.
A court hearing is set for July 14 in Clinton County involving records on sludge application stored by Prime Tanning at a St. Joseph warehouse.
State officials also said results of a late May inspection of St. Joseph’s sanitary landfill do not cause public health concern. A final report is still being prepared.
Mr. Rice said the investigation has identified more than 770 separate distributions of sludge to 116 farmers in the four counties from 1983 to 2008. Additional information will be gathered about the tannery’s sludge distributions since 2008, he added.
Staff collected eight soil samples from three farms in Andrew, Buchanan and DeKalb counties where sludge was known to have been spread, Mr. Rice said. Chromium 6 was detected in five of the eight samples, but none at levels exceeding the government screening level of 86 parts per million.
Clinton County was not included in the initial round of sampling to detect chromium, Mr. Rice said, but will be part of the second round.
Ray Scherer can be reached at rscherer@npgco.com.