The treated sewage sludge that's regularly sprayed on dozens of fields in Grand Bay contains heavy metals and other chemical pollutants, according to records provided by the Mobile Area Water and Sewer System.
Each of the 3,000 acres in the sludge-spraying program is permitted to receive a total of 267 pounds of lead, 15 pounds of mercury and 1,338 pounds of copper, among other contaminants, before they can no longer have sludge applied to them, according to MAWSS and Merrell Brothers Inc., the company in charge of spreading the sludge.
Mercury levels in some of the sludge-receiving fields in Grand Bay are already higher than would naturally be found in soil, according to testing data MAWSS was required to collect for its 2007 annual report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
For instance, a field owned by Leroy Hill was found to contain mercury in the soil at .52 parts per million.
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