"TORONTO — The loosening of rules around spreading sewage sludge -- potentially laced with pharmaceuticals like Viagra -- on Ontario farm fields has critics sounding the alarm about potential health risks."

"While the sludge, a mix of household and industrial waste, has been used as a crop fertilizer for years, recent regulatory changes have made it easier for farmers to use.

The province insists any pharmaceuticals found in the sludge are at levels that meet safety standards, but critics are crying foul.

"It so does not make sense to allow the kinds of contaminants that are routinely in sewage sludge ... onto our farm fields, to allow them to be put on pasture land where cows graze that give us milk," said Maureen Reilly of the group Sludge Watch."

The Canadian Press had the story March 31, 2012. [2]