Biosolids aka Sewer Sludge What You Don't Know

Picture everything that goes down your sink and toilet in addition to human waste; such as medicines, cleaners, dyes, spoiled food. drain cleaners, cosmetics, pesticides, solvents, etc. Now consider what else in your vicinity uses the public sewer system (i.e. hospitals and mortuaries, animal clinics and pet shops. All may be adding a nice infectious blend of bacteria, viruses and other pathogens.

Now add in businesses and industry (auto painting and repair shops, furniture stripping, dry cleaning, metal plating, printing shops, and all types of manufacturing. We're talking asbestos, lead, mercury, PCB's, dioxins, flourans and hundreds of other man-made chemicals.

Our public sewer system carries this material to waste water treatment plants, whose chief job is to treat the water to release back into streams, rivers, and oceans. What's left over is sewer sludge; a nasty concentrated muck, which is considered too toxic to dump in oceans or put into landfills. In fact, the more efficient the treatment plant, the more toxic the biosolid (sewer sludge).

So let's spread sewer sludge on the land and call it 'beneficial biosolids! This is exactly what's happening across the nation, thanks to the EPA and the public relations departments of the waste industry.

The EPA goes on further to give 'excellent quality' ratings to sludge if it is composted for as little as two months! Composted or not, sewer sludge toxicities vary depending on the location of the treatment plant, what industries are in the area, and what is dumped down the sewer on any given day. Product uniformity therefore, is inconsistent, even without considering accidental spills, illegal dumping, or the cumulative effects of applying biosolids to the same land year after year.

Homeowners, if aware of the above, may be outraged and insist on not using biosolids (sewer sludge). Landscape contractors should be aware of potential liabilities from employees and customers. Municipalities should also be aware of sewer sludge products applied to parks, recreation areas, and stream bank restoration projects.

For back ground research information regarding this topic visit the Cornel Waste Management Institute website at cwmi.css.cornell.edu/Sludge.html

News release provided by Conrad Cain

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