“For decades, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority has been turning waste into a commodity.

At the agency’s Quincy plant, the MWRA collects sludgy waste water from across the region and transforms it into fertilizer pellets, that are in turn sold or provided back to communities for use in parks, farms, gardens, and golf courses.

But tests this year have ignited concern over the fertilizer, The Boston Globe reports.

Results show man-made chemicals known commonly as PFAS — or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — have been detected in the fertilizer — chemicals that have been linked to low infant birth weights, increased cancer risk, and immune system changes, among other health effects, according to the newspaper.”

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