As you all must know by now, the US EPA
and waste industry are proposing to lump Class A sewage sludge
in with your "green and clean" composts, and call them all
The problem is that sewage sludge composts contain significant
concentrations of toxic metals, radionuclides and hazardous industrial
chemicals. In addition to commercial and industrial wastes, official
EPA policy is to dispose of landfill leachates and treated Superfund wastes in
local sewage treatment plants where the wastewater treatment process partitions
the chemicals to the sewage sludge.
The EPA and waste industry have been trying for years to confuse
the public so people won't realize all the euphemisms
( "biosolids", "wastewater residuals", "condensed biologic solids", etc.)
are actually sewage sludge as defined in 40 CFR part 503.9(w):
"Sewage sludge is solid, semi-solid, or liquid residue generated
during the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment works."
Class A sludges
must meet pathogen levels of either a fecal coliform limit of less than 1,000
fecal coliform/g dry weight of solids or a measure of less than 3 salmonella/4 g
dry weight of solids. However, US EPA
acknowledges significant problems with pathogen regrowth in Class A sewage
sludge -- particulary in cool, damp climates -- because of the
absence of competing microorganisms. Compounding the problem, the EPA
weakened sludge testing requirements in
1999.
Furthermore, scientists and microbiologists
have been telling the EPA for years that Salmonella sp. and fecal
coliform are not adequate pathogen indicators because they are
vegetative bacteria that are highly susceptible to both chemical disinfection
and heat disinfection. Suggestions for more appropriate and
hardier sludge pathogen indicators include Adenoviruses, Coliphage, Clostridium perfringens,
Enterococci, Enteroviruses, and Escherichia coli.
So why should we care if Class A sewage sludge is
lumped together with clean and green composts which are free of human
pathogens and industrial wastes? Because there are certain
places where it is inappropriate to use Class A sewage sludge --- such as on
ballfields and playgrounds where children will be exposed (dermal and
inhalation, plus all kids eat dirt -- and PICA kids eat lots of dirt
!). Class A sewage sludge does not belong in home vegetable gardens
- once again, dermal and inhalation exposure, plus sludge pollutants can be
taken up by plants and pose an ingestion risk. Also,
Class A sludge composts emit endotoxins which pose a respiratory/health
risk.
USDA regulations prohibit the use of sewage sludge
in organic gardening. How will organic gardeners know
the "compost" is sludge-derived without appropriate labeling? And
let's not forget, the use of "pathogen-free" Class A sludge caused a
Staphylococcus Aureus infection in one of your own members:
>>> wquinn@anla.org 08/06/02 03:58PM
>>>
I got a Staphylococcus aureus infection of my
skin from handling composted
sewage sludge ("biosolids") at my home, so
that's enough research for me. "
I suspect one of the
reasons the waste industry and EPA want to hide Class A sewage sludge in
"compost" is because so many sewage treatment facilities around the country are
upgrading from producing Class B sewage sludge (toxic, pathogenic, nasty) to
producing the less controversial Class A sludge. So the problem
is, Class A sludge derived products are rapidly becoming a glut on
the market -- so there is no market -- no-one wants them.
I enjoy your chat room and
perceive that a majority of members mean yard trimmings, clean wood, vegetative
matter, paper and manure when discussing "compost". It would be a
shame to see the waste industry and EPA contaminate both the
concept and the "product" with toxic sewage sludge.
Helane Shields, PO Box 1133, Alton, NH
03809
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, January 02, 2004 8:32 PM
Subject: send email to composting council excoriating EPA renaming
Class A sewage sludge "compost"
``Greening the Government Through Waste
Prevention,
Recycling, and Federal Acquisition.'' Specifically, EPA is
proposing to
revise the current compost designation to include compost
made from manure
or biosolids, and designate fertilizers made from
recovered organic
materials. EPA is also proposing to consolidate all
compost designations
under one item called ``compost made from
recovered organic
materials.''