Sludge Watch ==> Lancashire UK - Stench of land applied muck sends residents to Env Health

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

Sludgewatch Admin

It looks like there is some kind of heavy spreading of a liquidly sewage 
sludge going on in Lancashire England.  It is not clear that there are well 
laid out rules for sludge spreading in the UK, as I have seen massive 
application rates (400 tons per acre, in one case).  As you see from the 
reporting, the understanding of the issue is vague...sludge is referred to 
as manure.

And certainly modern wastewater treatment plants are engineered to treat the 
water fraction of the waste stream more so than treat the resultant sludge 
that is dredged from the sewage matrix.

It isn't clear what kind of treatment this 'muck' has undergone.

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The fields near to the A59 at Much Hoole - to see the photo go to:
http://www.lep.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=73&ArticleID=1647691

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July 24, 2006


Complaints over bad smell 'sludge'

Residents in rural Lancashire have been kicking up a stink over the manure 
used to fertilise farmers' fields.


Farmers around Tarleton, Bretherton and Much Hoole, near Preston, have been 
using treated "sludge" on their crops to help them grow.

The sludge, which is a by-product of the water treatment process, is high in 
nutrients – making it an ideal fertiliser.

But people living in nearby villages say that the recent hot weather is 
causing the manure to stink – and they are concerned about how the smell may 
affect their health.

Some residents are so concerned about the smell that they have contacted 
environmental health bosses.

Councillor Brenda Wilson, cabinet member with responsibility for public 
health and housing, said: "We have received some complaints about the smell 
generated by muck spreading in and around Much Hoole.

"Muck spreading is a standard agricultural practice that unfortunately does 
generate unpleasant smells.

"The smells are, however, particularly unpleasant at the moment due to the 
current hot weather, more so because people tend to have their windows open.

"We are looking into the complaints we have received and will be in touch 
with the complainants once we have finished investigating the matter."

A spokesman for United Utilities, the supplier of the "sludge," said: 
"People do not need to be concerned about the fertiliser being spread on 
fields near Tarleton.

"This is not untreated human waste, it is called sludge and is the final 
by-product of a highly sophisticated wastewater treatment process."