Senate Plans Hearing on Sludge Given to Black Families, NAACP wants investigation

CAPITOL HILL (AP) - A Senate panel is planning to investigate the government's funding of a research project that put sewage sludge on lawns in poor, black neighborhoods.

The Associated Press reported yesterday that a mix of human and industrial waste from sewage treatment plants was spread on the lawns of 9 families in Baltimore, and next to an elementary school in East St. Louis, Illinois in 2001 and 2002.

The research was funded by the Agriculture Department, the EPA, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It was aimed at determining whether sewage sludge might combat lead poisoning in children.

A review of grant documents revealed no evidence of any medical follow-up.

The NAACP's Maryland chapter wants Maryland's attorney general to investigate whether the families gave informed consent. The chapter president likened the study to the Tuskegee experiments, where black men were denied treatment for syphilis in order to study the illness.

Researchers say the families were assured the sludge was safe, but weren't told that there have been some health concerns over it. [MORE]