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Sound Rivers Water Quality Specialist Taylor Register had a dirty job this week.

Taylor headed to Goldsboro on Wednesday to check out a field used to dispose of human waste removed from portable toilets.

“We received a call last week from some residents in Goldsboro that were concerned about human sewage being sprayed on a field close to their neighborhood. They said that every week or so, waste from a portable toilet company is being sprayed into this field, causing extreme odors and sometimes visible toilet paper remnants after the spraying is done,” Taylor said. “The residents are not only concerned about potential health impacts from this routine spraying, stating that themselves and their neighbors are sick more than ever, but also concerned about impacts to the river.”

The sprayfield is located next to Stoney Creek, a tributary of the Neuse River which flows through Goldsboro.

Taylor collected water samples upstream and downstream of the sprayfield area, are being tested for the presence of E. coli. A dive into the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s online records show the company is permitted to apply human waste to the land and have operated within the parameters of their permit, meaning the company has not been issued any violations for issues like ponding and runoff or spraying during rain events.

“We’ve passed along these concerns to the NC Division of Waste Management to see if they have any more information or can perform a follow-up inspection based on these concerns,” Taylor said. “If the results from the samples I took come back elevated, we’ll be conducting some more targeted sampling to further pinpoint the contamination area, and also collect some DNA samples to see if there’s any human sources present in the water. We’re also looking into the possibility of collaborating with CleanAIRE NC to see if they can install an ambient air quality monitor in the area, which could tell us if this sprayfield is posing any negative impacts to human health in the community.”

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