In a demonstration before the Burlington City Council on Tuesday, a member of an environmental group dumped fecal matter and several dyes into a vase of water to illustrate problems with the use of sludge in Alamance County and other counties.
Don Yelton, a member of the Environmental Investigation Coalition, first poured yellow dye into the water to illustrate urine, then took a plastic baggie full of human waste and dumped it in. Yelton then stirred the mixture with a whisk and added toilet paper and several other dyes until the liquid had turned a sickly green.
At one point, a few drops of the liquid splashed out of the vase and onto the council's desk. Yelton quickly wiped the spill up.
Yelton and fellow coalition members Dale Swiggett and Nancy Holt want the city to investigate its contract with Synagro, a wastewater solids distribution company, and its distribution of sludge as fertilizer for farms.
Holt told the council that residents within a five-mile radius of her home near where Synagro spreads sludge have a 70 percent cancer rate. Holt said she herself has a brain tumor.
After sitting down, Holt had a seizure and was escorted from the meeting.
Don Yelton, a member of the Environmental Investigation Coalition, first poured yellow dye into the water to illustrate urine, then took a plastic baggie full of human waste and dumped it in. Yelton then stirred the mixture with a whisk and added toilet paper and several other dyes until the liquid had turned a sickly green.
At one point, a few drops of the liquid splashed out of the vase and onto the council's desk. Yelton quickly wiped the spill up.
Yelton and fellow coalition members Dale Swiggett and Nancy Holt want the city to investigate its contract with Synagro, a wastewater solids distribution company, and its distribution of sludge as fertilizer for farms.
Holt told the council that residents within a five-mile radius of her home near where Synagro spreads sludge have a 70 percent cancer rate. Holt said she herself has a brain tumor.
After sitting down, Holt had a seizure and was escorted from the meeting.
