Sludge Goes Cyber

In our book, Toxic Sludge Is Good For You, we reported on a PR campaign by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and sewage treatment plants to improve the image of sewage sludge by renaming it as "biosolids." Now the sludge spreaders have created the "National Biosolids Partnership." The NBP website, built with assistance from the PR firm of Issue Dynamics Inc., describes its mission as "advancing sound and sustainable biosolids programs designed to gain public confidence within local communities." It all makes sludge sound really swell, but if you want to know what they aren't telling you, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported recently on the death of 11-year-old Tony Behun.