Sludge Watch ==> U of North Carolina to explore health effects of spreading sludge on farmland

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin:

This story talks about Class B sludge not being spread on food crops.
But do people know how very little oversite and enforcement there is?
Brawley Calif sewage sludge is used to grow alfalfa seed in Yuma.  And 
people eat sprouted alfalfa.

And goats that are sold for food to restaurants are grazed on those same 
Yuma AZ fields....spread with California Class B sludge from the Imperial 
Valley.

California EPA Region 9 says it is 'not a priority' to enforce the testing 
requirments for sludges that are certified as 'Class A'.

As to skin rashes....talk to any one who has ever worked in sewage treatment 
plant and have them tell you about rashes.

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


Published: Jun 05, 2007 08:47 PM
Chapel Hill News
North Carolina


Study may clear up mystery
UNC to explore effects of spreading sewage on farmland


By Emily Matchar, Staff Writer

WHITE CROSS -- Sludge is smelly. But does it make people sick?
Some western Orange County residents hope a study by the UNC School of 
Public Health will help them show that sewage sludge sprayed on nearby farm 
fields is harming their health.

"Can municipalities prove that it is safe? The answer is no," said Nancy 
Holt.

Holt, who lives near fields treated with sludge, organized a community 
meeting last week to discuss the issue.

Sewage sludge, also known as biosolids, is the slushy mixture left over 
after processing at wastewater treatment plants. It is sprayed on farm 
fields to fertilize non-food crops.

The sludge used on a 175-acre area surrounding Bradshaw Quarry Road in 
Efland comes from the City of Burlington. To spread treated waste, local 
water and sewer agencies must apply for state permits and make arrangements 
with landowners who want the substance for free fertilizer.

Holt, 63, says she and her neighbors have suffered from antibiotic-resistant 
staph infections, nausea and headaches, which she speculates are due to 
chemicals in the sludge.

Neighbor Brenda Bowden says she had a mysterious skin infection that took 
two years to clear up.

"They didn't know what it was from," she said, describing her doctors' 
puzzlement at the infection, which left her with scars on her stomach.

Chip Simmons, an environmental microbiologist from UNC School of Public 
Health, hopes to begin a study this summer to examine the contents of the 
sludge and test surrounding air and water quality.

The study is funded by a $10,000 grant from the Orange County Health 
Department.

Simmons' colleague, epidemiologist Steven Wing, is working to create a 
protocol for reporting sludge-related health concerns to local health 
departments.

"It's very clear that people are reporting problems," he said.

What's not clear is whether the sludge is to blame, and if so, how best to 
dispose of biosolids?

Steve Shoaf, utilities director for Burlington, says his department takes 
complaints seriously. After hearing complaints from Holt, the city ceased 
spraying the field directly across from her house. But after reviewing water 
quality studies conducted by the Orange County Health Department on the 
Bradshaw Quarry Road area, staff did not find any reason to halt other 
spraying in the area.

"We do not find any smoking gun, we don't find any kind of substantive 
evidence that there are problems," Shoaf said.

He says that he was not informed of last week's community meeting and 
worries that some of the scientists involved in the UNC study may be biased.

Shoaf says that the utilities department meets all EPA regulations for 
biosolid use. The city is permitted to spray sludge on 3,000 acres in five 
counties, including Orange.

Ed Holland, director of planning at Orange Water and Sewer Authority, says 
biosolid spraying is safe.

OWASA spreads sludge on about 1,000 acres in Orange and Chatham counties, 
mostly on private land, though not in the Bradshaw Quarry Road area.

"There is nothing that has compelled us to believe that there are any health 
effects that have been caused by biosolids application," Holland said.

Nonetheless, he says OWASA is working toward producing more Class A 
biosolids, which go through a more rigorous cleaning process than Class B 
biosolids.

Class A biosolids can be spread on food crops with little to no regulation, 
Holland said. Class B biosolids, the type used on Bradshaw Quarry Road, can 
be spread only by permit and only with certain buffer zones.

The current minimum distances for surface application of Type B sludge are 
400 feet from a structure, 50 feet from property lines and 100 feet from 
wells.

Those distances are not enough, says state toxicologist Kenneth Rudo. 
Biosolids are safe at a distance, he said, though no one is sure how much 
distance is needed.

"The dose makes the poison," he said. "Basically we're saying, 'Move back.'"

http://www.chapelhillnews.com/news/story/7794.html