Sludge Watch ==> Row over sewage sludge muck spreading in UK

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

Sludgewatch Admin:

There is a nice picture of rural folk holding their noses at the awful 
odours from sludge spreading in the UK on this story.  But you will note the 
silly refrain (an echo from the City of Toronto's recent folly) where the 
sewage treatment plant tells the press that spreading pathogenic sludges on 
farmlands is better than disposal at sea (or in Toronto's case - dumping it 
in Lake Ontario).

This ocean dumping issue is a strawman. There are many disposal methods of 
nasty sewage sludge.
Landfilling as sludge cake, landfilling it as compost, or lime treated, or 
dried granules.  It can also be used for fuel in a biomass plant.  There is 
also interest in plasma arc and other disinfection technologies.

Odour isn't the only issue with land applied sludges.  The pathogenic 
bacteria multiply in the sewage treatment plant and digesters, and then they 
are supposed to die off.  But the DNA fragments even from the dead bacteria 
can act as pathogenic agents.  There can also be regrowth or reactivation of 
pathogens when the sludge is land applied.

The risks of sludge from a pathogen perspective have not been established in 
science or addressed by the wastewater industry.



.............................................................................

http://www.lutontoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=541&ArticleID=1702228



Luton Today, United Kingdom

Villagers kick up a stink
Row over muck-spreading
The unpleasant odour of raw sewage is hovering over the hamlet of Peters 
Green, near Luton Airport. And it's getting up the noses of residents.

Mike Littleworth is one of several who are stinking mad.
"I've lived in the country all my life and I'm used to country smells," the 
former electrical engineer said. "But this is an acrid aroma that gets in 
your throat and puts you off your food. It's not good for us and it's not 
good for the village."

Mr Littleworth, 78, of Lawrence End Road, blames a local farmer for 
spreading the muck that's causing the problem.

"He gets it free from the local sewage works. We've complained about it 
before but nothing is ever done," he said. "It happens every year but the 
past three weeks have been particularly bad."

Mr Littleworth and his wife Hazel have lived in Peters Green for more than 
40 years.

A woman who answered the phone at nearby Laburnham Farm but who refused to 
be named agreed sewage had been spread but said it had been worked into the 
ground as legally required.

"A tractor has to follow the spreader and cultivate it in," she said. She 
admitted there had been a bit of a pong but claimed this had been 
exacerbated by the recent heatwave.

She added: "It's used as a fertiliser for crops all over the country and if 
it doesn't go into the land, it ends up somewhere else, like the sea."

Bob Davies, vice chairman of Kimpton Parish Council, confirmed a number of 
complaints had been received. "There was a hell of a stink," he said. "It 
caused a lot of ill feeling and some residents approached the farmer 
concerned directly.

"He complied with the law and ploughed it in within 48 hours of spreading. 
The problem arose because he chose to do it on the hottest day of the year. 
It was so bad no one could sit in their gardens. Barbecues had to be 
abandoned."

Mr Davies said he had passed the matter on to North Herts District Council.

It's a complex problem, according to NHDC environmental health spokeswoman 
Sarah Wren. She said: "Increasing amounts of sewage sludge are being spread 
on land as fertiliser, following a government ban on the dumping of 
processed sludge at sea. It provides an environmentally-friendly alternative 
to chemical fertilisers but can give off an unpleasant odour, particularly 
in hot weather."

NHDC's environmental health department is writing to farmers in the Peters 
Green area asking them to make sure they stick to government guidelines when 
they store and lay sewage sludge on fields.

Cllr Wren said: "Ploughing-in should take place within 24 hours. If it 
doesn't, farmers could be responsible for a statutory nuisance and served 
with an abatement notice. But if farmers exercise best practice the council 
has no further power to intervene."

If landowners would like further advice, they should contact the 
environmental health team on 01462 474328.
20 August 2006