Sludge Watch ==> Tainted Fertilizer in Milwaukee to Carry Big Bill.

[Maureen Reilly]

>From Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,

7-28-07. Tainted Fertilizer in Milwaukee to Carry Big Bill.

Sewerage district anticipates losses in hundreds of thousands

Costs of finding toxic chemicals in sewage-sludge fertilizer extend well 
beyond the temporary closings of 30 public areas where the fertilizer was 
applied, sewerage district and environmental officials say. No decisions 
have been made yet on whether soil cleanup is required at the parks and 
athletic fields. But taxpayers in the 28 municipalities served by the 
Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District will face a far greater bite out of 
their wallets.

In addition to lost sales of Milorganite and other fertilizer products, 
there will be costs to dispose of the tainted fertilizer stored on Jones 
Island and to decontaminate the fertilizer production facilities there. It 
will take months for the sewerage district to learn fully the financial 
impact of the contamination to its dried sewage-sludge product, officials 
said. But they project up to $600,000 in losses because the tainted 
fertilizer stored at Jones Island cannot be sold.Suspending Milorganite 
production will also cut revenue. Milorganite stocks will be depleted within 
a few weeks, and there is no way the sewerage district can fulfill all of 
its routine customer demands across the country this year.

Sales of Milorganite have generated $5 million to $6 million a year in 
recent years. Even so, revenue does not pay all production costs, said Jeff 
Spence, Milorganite marketing director.But transforming the sewage sludge 
into fertilizer is less expensive than paying to dump it into a landfill, 
said Mark Kaminski, the sewerage district's acting controller. The district 
now tests its sludge daily for polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, but that 
added cost will not change the equation, Kaminski said.Still, Milorganite 
production cannot resume until the sludge is free of PCBs and the Jones 
Island fertilizer facilities have been cleaned.

John Melby, regional waste management leader for the state Department of 
Natural Resources in Milwaukee, said some decontamination would be required. 
Spence said there is no cost estimate for what could be a lengthy cleansing 
of sludge dewatering and drying equipment and other facilities.A preliminary 
investigation into the tainted fertilizer found that cleaning crews early 
this month dislodged PCBs from thick, oily mounds in two sewers, said Peter 
Topczewski, water quality protection manager. The chemicals flowed to Jones 
Island and later contaminated sewage sludge removed at the end of treatment.

Cleaning was halted July 6. Concentrations of PCBs in Jones Island sewage 
sludge started slowly declining after that, he said.Now when sewers are 
cleaned in industrial neighborhoods throughout the district's regional 
service area, the district will require municipalities and its own crews to 
test any oily sediment in the pipes before cleaning begins, Topczewski 
said.Many corporations in those neighborhoods historically used or recycled 
materials containing PCBs, chemicals that were used in thousands of products 
but have not been made in the United States since 1977.

Prior contamination

This was not the first time that PCBs were found in sediment in Milwaukee 
sewers.Last August, an MMSD contractor cleaning a large regional sewer south 
of downtown apparently freed PCBs from gunk in the pipe, Topczewski 
said.Subsequent tests of sewage-sludge fertilizer found barely detectable 
levels of PCBs.Federal regulations allow sewage sludge to be used as 
fertilizer if it contains less than 10 parts per million. The sewerage 
district voluntarily imposed a more stringent limit of 1 part per million of 
PCBs on its fertilizer so that it can be sold in all states, Spence said.

In October 2005, an MMSD contractor complained of an odor in a regional 
sewer near S. 35th St. and W. Lincoln Ave.An inspection found the stench was 
caused by grain discharged to the sewer with other wastes from a nearby 
malting facility. Removing the grain uncovered an 8-inch-deep layer of oily 
sediment.Workers described the heavy gunk as being similar to "bread dough." 
It contained metal shavings and up to 25 parts per million of PCBs, 
Topczewski said.The decision was made not to disturb it after tests 
determined the oily mass was not water soluble and would not be flushed down 
the pipe by routine flows of wastewater.The sewer remains in use while MMSD 
studies whether the mass could be removed without dislodging PCBs. Another 
option is to close the sewer and fill the pipe with concrete, Topczewski 
said.

No permanent change

Neither of those two incidents, however, prompted MMSD to permanently change 
its routine from federally required monthly tests to daily tests of Jones 
Island sewage sludge. After the August 2006 incident, the district tested 
the sludge daily until levels of the chemicals were no longer detected, 
Topczewski said. Then monthly testing resumed.

The district also did not require municipalities and itself to test sewer 
sediment before cleaning pipes because the two incidents appeared to be 
isolated and there had been no recurring problems with PCBs, he said.Maps 
are being prepared showing where industries might have used or recycled 
products containing PCBs to assist sewer cleaning.At least two of the closed 
recreational areas could reopen to the public beginning Tuesday because soil 
tests did not find health-threatening levels of PCBs at those sites. The 
status of other athletic fields and parks will be announced this week, 
environmental officials said.