Sludge Watch ==> Ontario Pelham Paper Sludge - Minister: Wake up and smell the sludge!

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

Presentation on the Community Objections to Sound-Sorb Paper Sludge
By: Carolyn Botari
fivegablesfarm at yahoo.ca




We are all becoming experts on paper sludge, or paper fibre biosolids.  We 
didn’t plan on becoming experts.  When sludge arrived in Pelham, we went to 
the experts for answers, but they would not or could not give us answers.  
So we did our research and found the answers ourselves.  The more we looked, 
the more disturbing the information became.  PFB is the waste left over 
after the paper recycling process.  It consists of unusable short fibres, 
inks, dyes, clay, glues and other residue along with any chemicals used in 
the recovery process. When an extra ingredient like sand is added to paper 
sludge it suddenly becomes a product called Sound Sorb rather than a waste 
and is therefore exempt from all Ministry of the Environment waste 
management regulations. The MoE no longer has any control over how it is 
transported or placed on land. Paper sludge can also be legally mixed with 
municipal waste, liquid industrial waste or hazard waste and still remain 
unregulated.  Paper sludge is 50% liquid, and soon after being dumped it 
begins to leach into the ground as this waste material begins to settle and 
decompose.


This unregulated material has been piling up on agricultural land throughout 
Southern Ontario for more than 5 years.  Communities across the Province 
have been demanding that a stop be put to this out of control dumping.  The 
MoE agrees the sludge is a processed organic waste.  In fact the MoE has 
noted that the material, especially when placed in huge berms, heats up, 
decomposes and has the potential to leach a number of contaminates into the 
surrounding land and water.

Sludge began arriving at 325 Church Street about 2 months ago.  Because this 
product is unregulated by the government, no one in authority really knows 
what has been piled and continues to be piled with the sludge on Church 
Street.  There is no set formula for creating the product Sound Sorb.

The enormous pile on Church Street, estimated to be close to 50,000 tonnes 
has already begun to decompose.  Bubbling pools of orange, brown, black, 
purple, and green oily liquid are forming at the base of these berms.  This 
leachate has already begun to seep into the surface water of surrounding 
ditches and watercourses, killing plants.  It will soon be reaching the 
underground water table.  Residents have repeatedly asked the MoE to test 
the water in a drilled well on the property.  They want a control sample of 
the ground water to be put on record.  They want future testing of the well 
to monitor for any changes or contamination, yet to date this well has never 
been tested.

Testing the well is not an unreasonable request.  After all, paper sludge 
has been shown to contain e-coli, fecal coliform, and hazardous bioaerosols. 
  The MoE’s own Expert Panel study of Sound Sorb stated that contaminates 
such as total petroleum hydrocarbons, PAH’s and lead were contaminates of 
potential concern in Sound Sorb and acrylamide, benzo[a]pyrene, MEK and 
phenol required further research since all of these may appear only after 
years of decomposition of a Sound Sorb berm.

To add to the growing fears that Sound Sorb has the potential to seriously 
contaminate the land and water where it is piled, it should also be noted 
that the creators and haulers of this sludge have been repeatedly charged 
and fined for offences under the Environmental Protection Act, yet they 
continue to be allowed to pile this material at new sites, year after year.

After years of complaints, the MoE finally commissioned an independent panel 
of experts to review and study Sound Sorb to see if it posed any adverse 
effects to humans or the environment.  The Sound Sorb berm that was studied 
by the Experts Panel contained a 3 parts paper sludge to one part sand mix.  
  The Sound Sorb berm at 325 Church Street most likely has a 15 parts paper 
sludge to one part sand mix, a 5 times greater concentration of sludge.

Upon completing the study the Experts Panel could not come to a conclusion 
on all the possible risks to human health and the environment.  They 
concluded that the chemistry inside a berm would undergo significant changes 
over many decades and therefore, there has not been sufficient time for many 
contaminates to have migrated to monitoring wells.

They did however have six recommendations for the use of Sound Sorb in 
berms.
These include:
•	the need for long-term monitoring of groundwater at berm sites
•	all paper sludge should be composted before being used in berms
•	before a 3:1 Sound Sorb berm is placed at a new site, a hydrogeological 
assessment of the site should be done.
•	Paper sludge should be controlled by Certificates of Approval at all 
stages from generation, transport, composting and final use in the 
construction of berms
•	Paper sludge mixed with soil should be controlled by Certificates of 
Approval with respect to preparation and use.

Remember, these recommendations are for a 3:1 paper sludge/sand mix.  How do 
these recommendations apply to a berm with an outrageously high paper sludge 
to sand ratio like the one on Church Street?

The citizens of Pelham are in no way the first to demand that the government 
take control of this dumping issue. The Durham Region Medical Officer, the 
association of local Public Health agencies, the Haldimand Federation of 
Agriculture, the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, the Central Lake 
Ontario Conservation Authority, and the Experts Panel on Sound Sorb have all 
urged the Government of Ontario to act immediately to regulate and control 
the storage, transport, manufacturing and land application of PFB and 
related PFB products.

The communities of Whitby, Oshawa, Huntsville, Lincoln, Cayuga, Kawartha 
Lakes, Orillia, Aylmer, Haldimand, Niagara Falls, Flamborough, Hamilton, 
Brock Township, the Municipality of Clarington, and now the Town of Pelham 
have demanded that all the recommendations of the Experts Panel be 
implemented immediately.

The citizens of Pelham have a message for Laurel Broten, our Minister of the 
Environment:
“Wake up and smell the sludge.
These berms are nothing more than glorified landfill sites.   Minister 
Broten, you need to put a stop to this dumping now!”