Today, we focus our sights on Tennessee in our ongoing series highlighting PFAS contamination issues nationwide.

In 2019, the company 3M admitted that it had illegally released toxic chemicals into the Tennessee River from its Decatur, AL manufacturing plant. 3M did this, although it had been barred from doing so under the US Toxic Substances Control Act, as part of an agreement to allow the production of the chemicals starting in 2009.

In 2022, the Sierra Club of Tennessee released a report titled “Toxic PFAS Chemicals Measured in Nashville Fertilizer,” which exposed that the fertilizer sold by Music City Gold contained high levels of PFAS. This home fertilizer is sold to Nashville residents with the tagline “all-natural” and “organically rich” fertilizer. Similar to incidents in South Carolina, farmers and families were told that the fertilizer was a safer and cheaper alternative containing nutrients to help crops grow.

According to the Tennessee Lookout, Sierra Club Tennessee had two follow-up reports about PFAS contamination in the state. The first was released in January of this year, which showed that 60% of rivers and lakes tested in Northeast Tennessee contained PFAS. The report questions the long-term risk of drinking water in the region. 

The report pointed out a pattern: chemicals were found at higher concentrations in more urbanized stretches of water, particularly downstream from industrial and municipal wastewater treatment plants, military sites, and places where sewage sludge is spread on agricultural lands for disposal.

The second report was released in February of this year, showing record levels of PFAS chemicals in Northeast Tennessee sewage sludge used as crop fertilizer. According to the report, processed sewage sludge from a wastewater plant in Bristol, Tenn., contains some of the highest levels of PFAS chemical contamination detected in the U.S.

“As we continue to add PFAS to the environment, we don’t know what their impact will be, but if we wait before we start looking at them, it’s going to be too late.”

Dan Firth, Sierra Club chair of the solid waste and mining committee and co-author of both reports via Tenessee Lookout

As of October 2023, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has completed a statewide sampling initiative to test all public drinking water sources for 29 PFAS compounds. 

This is why Defend Our Health calls on representatives nationwide 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.

With the support of grassroots volunteers and organizers, Sierra Club Tennessee works to protect Tennessee’s air, water, and ecosystems and promote sustainable solutions that ensure safe and healthy communities for today and in the future. Click here to learn more information about the organization.

Want to get involved and help support PFAS-impacted farmers nationwide 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 into the 2024 Farm Bill!

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