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Climate|Sludge-Fertilizer Giant Leaves Texas Town Amid ‘Forever Chemicals’ Crisis
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/28/climate/sewage-sludge-fertilizer-pfas-synagro-forever-chemicals.html
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Ranchers claim livestock has been sickened by toxic chemicals in fertilizer made from sewage. Now Synagro, a Goldman Sachs-backed firm, has lost a deal to make sludge fertilizer there.
Hiroko Tabuchi has written extensively on contamination of farmland from fertilizer laced with toxic chemicals.
March 28, 2025, 5:10 p.m. ET
The City of Fort Worth, Texas, is ending its contract with Synagro, the Goldman Sachs-backed provider of fertilizer made from sewage sludge, over concerns that “forever chemicals” in the fertilizer are contaminating local farmland and groundwater.
Fort Worth this month also sued several manufacturers of the chemicals, also called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, alleging that they contaminated the city’s water supplies.
The New York Times reported last year on a group of ranchers in Johnson County, just south of Fort Worth, who sued Synagro, blaming the fertilizer used on neighboring farmland for contaminating their crops and livestock.
The sewage-sludge fertilizer came from Synagro, which had a contract to take sewage from Fort Worth’s sewage treatment plant, treat it further, and distribute it to farmers as fertilizer. Johnson County has since launched a criminal investigation into Synagro.
A growing body of research has shown that sewage sludge, much of which is used as fertilizer, can be contaminated with PFAS, a synthetic chemical used widely in everyday items like nonstick cookware and stain-resistant carpets.
