The Fight Against PFAS Contamination in South Carolina
December 6, 2023 | General Updates, Safe Food, Safe Water | Tags: Defend Our Health, Drinking Water, Environment, environmental health, Environmental Justice, forever chemicals, pfas, Toxic Chemicals
PFAS contamination is an issue that is impacting farmlands all across the nation. From Maine to New Mexico, the rise in PFAS contamination has reached a crisis level and is impacting U.S. citizens from all backgrounds of life. Today, we are focusing our sights on South Carolina.
According to The State, recent testing in South Carolina has confirmed ‘forever chemical’ pollution in the soil and groundwater of hundreds of acres of farmland in Darlington County. The use of sludge fertilizer has been an ongoing issue in the state of South Carolina for decades.
30 years ago, the Galey and Lord textile plant pitched a plan to all of the farms in the area that they claimed would help farmers save money on the cost of fertilizing crops. The plan? To utilize the sludge waste from the textile plant to use as fertilizer. The textile plant promised that the waste sludge contained nutrients that would help the crops grow while also being a cheaper alternative for farmers. Unfortunately, many farmers in the community agreed to use the sludge waste as fertilizer, including the O’Neal family farm.
In 2019, the government began finding hazardous chemicals in the drinking water of local farmers and their neighbors. Many of the wells that the community used as a drinking source were also polluted with the same toxic PFAS chemicals found in a sludge factory several miles away. Robert O’Neal, a third-generation farmer and owner of O’Neal Farms, is one of many who have found high levels of PFAS in his family’s well water.
“It [PFAS] has leached into our drinking water and poisoned us.”
– Robert O’Neal via The State
Since the early 1990s, municipal wastewater plants and industries have spread sludge on thousands of acres of agricultural land in South Carolina.
This is why Defend Our Health is calling on representatives across the nation to adopt S. 747 The Relief for Farmers Hit With PFAS Act. This act ensures that farmers impacted by PFAS contamination receive support from their state government through legislation that would authorize grants for states to provide financial assistance.
Want to get involved and help support PFAS-impacted farmers whose lives have been thrown into chaos? Sign our petition today urging your local representatives to adopt the Relief for Farmers Hit With PFAS Act!