Sludge Watch ==> MP BILL CASEY - questions about sludge/abbatoir spreading in Parliament

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

Sludgewatch Admin:

The CFIA says they have a risk assessment that suggests that if certain 
precautions and processes are followed results in little risk from land 
application of rendering plant sludges even if the plant processes BSE risk 
materials (bovine brain, spinal cord, eyes, tonsils, etc).  But where is the 
review of the plant process to see if, for instance the Maple Leaf Foods 
owned Rothsay Rendering sludges are produced using these precautionary 
technologies and processes?

The public who is subjected to these slurries of avian abbatoir, and 
potentially BSE infected wastes need to have full transparancy.  If the 
Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) calculations and regulations were 
adequate we would not continue to see mad cow disease afflict the Canadian 
herd.

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


Canada
39th PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION
EDITED HANSARD • NUMBER 046

June 22, 2006

http://www.parl.gc.ca/39/1/parlbus/chambus/house/debates/046_2006-06-22/han046_1055-e.htm

Mr. Bill Casey:
    With regard to the potential risks to human health and the environment 
from the spreading of industrial and human wastes on agricultural lands: (a) 
what studies have been undertaken by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency 
(CFIA) to evaluate the level of risk to rural or urban communities from the 
spreading of these materials; (b) have any CFIA studies been conducted aimed 
at ascertaining the level of risk from the application of rendering process 
materials on agricultural lands, including materials that may have 
originated from bovine or poultry species; (c) have any discussions taken 
place between the CFIA and the Nova Scotia Department of Environment and 
Labour regarding risk assessments related to the land applications of 
rendering plant materials and, if so, what conclusions were gathered and 
will there be follow-up discussions or joint actions between the CFIA and 
the government of Nova Scotia based on these conclusions; and (d) what 
actions have been taken by the CFIA to minimize the risk of bovine 
spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) materials being spread with other waste 
materials on agricultural lands?

Hon. Chuck Strahl (Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for 
the Canadian Wheat Board, CPC):
    Mr. Speaker, the answer is as follows: a) The CFIA is working with other 
government departments, Environment Canada, Health Canada and the Public 
Health Agency of Canada, to develop a common strategy to assess the 
potential risks associated with the spreading of industrial and human wastes 
on agricultural lands by conducting research projects and developing 
effective regulatory mechanisms. CFIA also conducts product safety 
assessments on fertilizer and supplement products on case-by-case basis. 
These assessments include an evaluation of risk to human, animal and plant 
health and the environment associated with the fertilizer and supplement 
product. The scope of CFIA's authority to regulate the spreading of 
industrial and human wastes on agricultural lands is defined by the 
Fertilizer Act and regulations. The Fertilizer Act and regulations allow the 
CFIA to regulate the importation and sale of fertilizer and supplement 
products directly, but not their use of disposal. When industrial or 
agricultural waste is sold or imported for the purpose of application to 
agricultural lands as a fertilizer, the product is subject to the Act and 
Regulations. Pursuant to the regulations, all fertilizer products must be 
safe, with respect to human, animal and plant health and the environment, 
efficacious when used as directed and properly labelled as to avoid 
misrepresentation in the marketplace. Compliance of commercial fertilizers 
with the prescribed product safety and efficacy standards is verified 
through marketplace monitoring activities which include inspection, product 
sampling and analysis as well as label verification. A number of CFIA 
monitoring programs specifically target risks associated with the 
application of industrial and waste products to agricultural lands, heavy 
metal content and pathogen contamination. This said, the limited scope of 
the CFIA's regulatory authority in this area requires that it work closely 
with stakeholders, the public and other government departments, provinces 
and municipalities to achieve comprehensive mitigation of risks associated 
with application of biosolids on agricultural lands.

    b) With respect to the land application of poultry materials, in 2004 
the Animal Health Risk Assessment Division of CFIA conducted risk 
assessments and provided scientific advice documents on the efficacy of 
composting as a method of disposal for material infected with avian 
influenza viruses, highly pathogenic avian influenza, H7N3. The results of 
the assessments demonstrated that the release of avian influenza viruses 
from composted poultry carcasses and manure is negligible, “the event would 
be virtually unlikely to occur”. This represents the lowest of seven risk 
estimate categories the CFIA applies in its animal health risk assessment 
process.

    The risk of exposing cattle to BSE through the use of various 
destruction and disposal methods of cattle tissues potentially infected with 
BSE was evaluated by the CFIA in 2005. One of the techniques assessed by the 
agency was the land application of waste water treatment solids recovered 
from abattoir and rendering plant operations which process cattle and cattle 
byproducts. In BSE-infected cattle, specified risk materials, SRM, are 
tissues, like the brain and spinal cord, which contain the vast majority of 
the infectious agent that causes BSE. As it was anticipated that some 
rendering operations in Canada may, once the proposed federal feed 
restriction enhancements come into effect, specialize in the rendering of 
solely cattle SRM, an assessment of BSE risk to animal health posed by the 
spreading of such solids was included in this project. The draft assessment 
concluded that the estimated risk of BSE transmission from this practice in 
a Canadian context would be negligible.

    Furthermore, the CFIA has been engaged in conducting research to support 
the regulatory initiatives in the area of transmissible spongiform 
encephalopathies and avian influenza. The following projects have been 
completed or are ongoing to assess the various disposal methods for the 
contaminated livestock and poultry waste: (1) Development and evaluation of 
composting strategies as a means for the safe disposal of animal carcasses 
from transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (2001-2005); (2) The fate of 
avian influenza viruses during composting of chicken carcasses and manure 
(2005-2007); and (3) On site composting for bio-containment and safe 
disposal of infectious animal carcasses and manure in the event of a 
bio-terrorism attack (2005-09). In addition, another project has been 
recently approved and work is planned to start soon to develop methods to 
destroy and measure abnormal prion protein and infectivity during composting 
of carcasses and high risk materials of animals infected with transmissible 
spongiform encephalopathies (2006-2009).

    c) The CFIA has been actively engaged in discussions with both the Nova 
Scotia Department of Agriculture and Marketing and the Nova Scotia 
Department of Environment and Labour regarding the practice of spreading 
rendering process materials and biosolids on agricultural land. In 2005, the 
CFIA participated in a public biosolids science forum and subsequent 
stakeholder's meeting sponsored by the Nova Scotia Department of Environment 
and Labour. Most recently, the CFIA has agreed to participate in a biosolids 
science committee currently being assembled by the Nova Scotia Department of 
Environment and Labour to provide scientific and technical advice to their 
biosolids advisory committee. The CFIA is also engaged in national 
initiatives that focus on the regulation, management and use of 
waste-derived materials including the Canadian Biosolid Partnership.

    d) As part of the enhanced feed ban regulations proposed by the CFIA in 
December 2004, cattle SRM tissues would be prohibited from use in animal 
food as well as fertilizers and fertilizer supplements in Canada. This 
prohibition would serve to keep potentially BSE-infected feeds and 
fertilizers off farms. In addition, a system of CFIA-administered permits 
has been proposed to control the collection, conveyance, treatment, disposal 
or destruction of SRM via rendering, composting, landfilling, incineration 
or other methods. Should a rendering facility choose to accept and process 
cattle SRM tissues once the enhanced restrictions come into effect, any 
rendering process materials, including protein meals, recovered solids from 
waste water treatment or composted SRM tissues, would require disposal or 
destruction in accordance with the CFIA permit conditions as well as 
provincial and municipal requirements. The permitting scheme allows for an 
added level of control and risk mitigation while the research projects and 
collection of empirical data are underway (see section c). Furthermore, 
according to the proposed enhancements all fertilizer and supplement 
products containing prohibited materials will require additional 
precautionary statements on the label that preclude their application to 
pasture land or other grazing areas for ruminants.

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