Sludge Watch ==> Foul Smelling Hospital Sludge

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

Sludgewatch Admin:

Hospital sludge would contain high levels of drugs and antibiotics, not only 
from excreted drugs, but also state-dated drugs and unfinished prescriptions 
that  are routinely 'destroyed' by flushing them down the toilet.

It would also contain virulent pathogens since it is a hospital.  Some of 
the bacteria might be live, or may have dessicated into dormant states.  
This is not an innocuous material.

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


http://www.waterford-news.ie/news/story.asp?j=21857

Friday, May 19, 2006

HSE allay public concerns over foul-smelling hospital sludge
By Aileen Mulhall

THE Health Service Executive has moved to allay public concerns about 
foulsmelling sewage sludge moved from the grounds of its treatment plant 
beside Waterford Regional Hospital to a temporary containment pit at 
Abbeylands, Ferrybank.

The health authority has stressed that the dried sludge from the hospital’s 
Maypark sewage treatment plant is treated and non-hazardous and will be 
disposed of through the normal permitted route.

According to the HSE, the dried sludge is suitable for disposal by spreading 
over land (similar to the way slurry is spread), by landfill or by anaerobic 
digestion. “It is fully biodegradable with no harmful residue,” said HSE 
spokesperson Audrey Lambourn in a statement.

She was responding to a newspaper report that claimed the storage of the 
waste in Abbeylands has raised fears amongst local residents over a 
potential threat to the environment and public health.

Contractors working on Waterford City’s main drainage and sewage treatment 
plant uncovered the sludge while they were digging out a pit at the Maypark 
treatment plant site. The site is being acquired by Waterford City Council 
and it’s intended to locate a pumping station on the property.

Brendan Sheahan of Kilkenny Co. Council said the waste removed from Maypark 
treatment plant site was being temporarily stored in a “totally sealed” 
constructed containment pit at the main drainage scheme contractor’s 
construction site at Abbeylands.

Apart from hospital waste, he said there appeared to have been concerns by 
members of the public about the presence of bentonite at the Abbeylands 
site.

He stressed that bentonite was also a non-hazardous inert material that is 
being used as a sealing agent around the pipelines being drilled from the 
Maypark treatment plant.

He said he was satisfied that the waste at the site in its current temporary 
storage position did not present any environmental risk.

In relation to the Maypark sewage treatment plant, the HSE pointed out that 
the plant has continuously operated within the parameters laid down by the 
local authority.

“Discharges from the plant are independently monitored monthly and continue 
to be within approved limits.

“Dried sludge is produced on the site as part of the normal treatment 
process,” said Audrey Lambourn. The plant, which treats all sewage/effluent 
arising from the hospital, was originally built in the 1950s and was 
upgraded during the redevelopment of the hospital in the late 1980s.