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H: [ | . /. T wiii *‘3“ A | THEY STARTED TO BECOME ILL WHEN A FARI: f | oo ‘ +C n 0. m u /25\}3‘ p e( d f _. y ’gfl‘ t .. " I lead, barium and potassium. T n | b} } | Y ul se j ' "B un p & S CAROLA VYHNAK "I‘ve never been this unhealthy in _\ )\ “ | (4 e h â€"1 EK & i & | Urpan arrairs refORTER my life. My bowels are shutting =o« . | | $ M m ( ) ‘, t ; ib hy t NR There‘s a note of quiet desperation | _ down at 47 years old:" /. \| I , wiled 4 h # ioR NR ht CHR in Wendy Deavitt‘s voice. Deavitt and her husband, Wilâ€" | 7 f Mhst4 t | 0 W ; a i mt‘ 8 ‘ "I‘m sitting here being continually liam, are one of four couples in the | [ yR wl . a ... wl We e "t" poisoned. | am scared to death." area who are being treated by a Toâ€" _ | Pn Poems 4 < af ,' Y ‘i‘ It started in the summer of 2006 â€" _ ronto toxicologist for everythingy U . 9 ) W ~All Wl t % when a farmer near her home in from chronic diarrhea to pneumo=\! ‘r Ap 0 1 , ) «s Trent Hills, 90 minutes northeast nia. 10| ’ d OE â€" old E. mnen t Eo\ of Toronto, spread sewage sludge Dianne and Wayne Cooke have | / dow. We P C M #A 5! T on his fields. She and her family imâ€" : spent$6,000 on weekly infusions | td 1/ “,;", f e NO h. / in i M N8 mediately developed diarrhea; of vitamins and minerals to helpirid U h n M tolp ’5\\, t headaches, coughs and hoarse= their bodies of toxins. Theirim= u> .. | | t u: 1 :\ j A ness. Since then she has been mune systems have been comproâ€" _/ ( U Wl Â¥ ) “‘ " plagued with fatigue, nausea, mised since the wind first brought.) . | ol i a % o WWH| â€"â€" cramps, malfunctioning kidneys contaminants to their hilltop home h * ‘ ; k 6 .\‘| and bowels and elevated levels of in the falliof 2005. : ; \ w Y lull 4 | . C r | FRED THORNHILL FOR THE TORONTO STAR "Lam scared to death," says Wendy Deavitt, of Warkworth, Ont., whoa is being treated by a Toronto toxicologist. \ | Tokouro sip 2 14~y 13/0¢ | | o o 6 , 9| ¢ | TuB | ( tm 8 || f C 4 dink R A | â€" 4 2 ‘W [ 4 / i I SLUDGEfrom A1 persgn;iai care products and pharmaâ€" Footd and Ru;alAflfgxsrs activea}y prd& i_sn’t “s;fifici:;t c;edi:)lie scientific inâ€" tl'éere yeIt{,1 she says. wu:h | ceuticals. mote using bioso as a safe and ormation" about pathogens, unregâ€" onya Kleywegt, a scientist with | ‘~ tonnes â€" is used by farmers and â€"â€" There‘s a variety of reasons why no. . free alternative to commercial fertilâ€" .. ulated metals, pharmaceuticals a.ngd standards }c'l‘gvgltopment branch | spread on 15,000 hectares of land. . testingisrequired, including:Noneis . izer, Land application is regulated. estrogenic hormones.) _\ . the environment ministry, ackno f Most of it is given away free. (Biosoâ€" . readilyavailableor even exists, or the â€" underthe EnvironmentalProtection â€"â€" The environment ministry apâ€" â€" edges that "information gapsӎ_idf â€" lids are usually applied inliquid form .. province does not consider the subâ€" â€" Actand Nutrient Management Act. |â€" proves applications considering face |â€" Forexample, biosolids aren‘t tes! | but are measured in dry weight for | stancearisk. _ Smith points to a 2001 report by the . tors suchas site location, soil quality, â€" for pharmaceuticals or person | . ‘consistency,) "I don‘t know how. the (environâ€" â€" Water Environment Association of â€" slope of the land and separation disâ€" â€" care products (known together But some rural residents who live . ment ministry) can believeregulated . Ontario, a group comprised of water . tances from homes, wells and waterâ€" â€" PPCP3s) because there are fevh; l } near sludged properties complain â€" heavy metals are the only contamiâ€" industry professionals and) governâ€" . courses, Itissues about 500 approvâ€" k ® | they‘ve beenstricken with a range of . nants in sludge we need to worry ment representatives, that conâ€" | alseachyear, in (of 1e . | maladies including respiratory probâ€" _ about," says MeBride, referring to . cludes using sludge presents little or â€" Regulations and guidelines range iCs inmanit. . §.).! lems, diarrhea, headaches, nausea, . tests the environment ministry actuâ€" . no threat to health, theenvironment. from the treatment process to B The science aroumi | rashes, fatigue and pneumoniaâ€" ally requires. W O WO s or water quality from composites .. spreadingrates and the waiting periâ€" th P ds . | Municipalities have for years strugâ€" â€"â€" "Sludge is amovingtarget. _ suchas regulated metals, dioxins, fuâ€" |â€" ods between application and grazing Ese compounds a | | gled with what to do with sludge and _ The environment ministry, anl%:thgq"‘“‘rahs andcertain organiecompounds. . or harvesting. is very § o || so it was incinerated, sent to landfills | Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, (Thougl;tli‘e report also notes there. â€"â€" It‘s how sludge keeps changing that _ J % ‘ or simply dumped into the nearest e ul Ein f'}‘.. 5) ks _ should trigger red flags, according to T “d’me‘"ta‘fy /. | Great Lake. Some has been landâ€"apâ€" . k o Jn 0) \ \ae) lc MeBride, the new director of Cornell i 8 .| plied since the 1970s. W h + B fi*?, avog ‘Waste Management Institute in Ithâ€" SONYAKLEYWEGT 0| _ Then in 1996 the Great Lakes Water â€"| ||||\|\| (hh . oo "‘.‘ ‘vT Om Nesm aca, NY where scientists have long ENVIRONMENTMINISTRY .\ . | Quality Agreement stiffened sewage â€"| | || i M ids dn d ) .’-’,‘1.\, ,!3,%5%.” I questioned land application, He beâ€" _ â€" SCIENTIST j A ! ucss U M s t css onl e | m O edrecâ€" o Wip lite l P a w Ed L_'v"‘:_“,"' 6 i al “ if g suideli tof oo t ,"_;‘l‘:"": Iw:v sn Ti â€" _ ommending it for use as fertilizer for ||| j N c en td Honl ... notradl o. lal ,Eilégmd?nwfm sg“f%%??fi?\-&fiwfigflz U .»%%fi%wgt" | farm crops. Munieipatitioo ~ freed ||| ||| ||| || | | SWS2, | compcatingtne ousts that weat | that can do mat eoddof anatals \ cwith fastâ€"filling landflls and a US. | .. e o t 2: . We ~tmtplmit§fimfl%fi i\ @ecepted methodology, and . \ _ border that is slowly closing to Onâ€" â€"| i 0C ~ubad â€" e ‘ / the water itself not the solids left beâ€" ;3‘] sate, | Eerent on ubal B men maneite e ce c â€"pl m T uen t o 2A OW . j 4e [ Chind en tha nanansslediniehad an â€" <"The katence around: these it