Sludge Watch ==> Halifax Plans for Sewage Waste Possibly Harmful

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin:

Halifax is in a bind since they decided to let N-Viro treat their sewage 
sludge.  N-Viro plans to use the cement kiln dust from Brookfield Lafarge 
Cement Kiln.  This cement kiln dust was once used by local farmers for 
raising the pH of farm soils, but ever since the plant started burning used 
oil, the plant manager said that the cement kiln dust (CKD) was too 
contaminated for agricultural use.

All that changed when Lafarge was approached by N-Viro.  Suddenly their 
thallium laced kiln wastes were considered ok to mix with sewage sludge to 
make 'fertilizer'.

Now Lafarge wants to burn tires at their cement kiln.  This will make their 
cement kiln dust even more toxic. And by extension the N-Viro sludge 
'fertilizer' will be more toxic since it is about 50 percent kiln dust.

So even if the Mayor meets with Chuck Strahl, the politician in charge of 
the Fertilizer Act, it isn't likely that this contaminated mixture will meet 
the requirements of the Fertilizer Act.  And Nova Scotia farmers have 
already told Halifax that they don't want to use this mixture on farm 
fields.

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http://www.dalgazette.ca/html/module/displaystory/story_id/1488/format/html/displaystory.html


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March 1, 2007

City’s plans for sewage waste possibly harmful

Anna Fong
Staff Contributor


City officials say they will perform continuous tests on treated sludge and 
water to ensure the levels of toxins and metals meet federal regulations.
Photo: John Packman
The city’s plans to produce fertilizers using treated sewage sludge have 
raised concerns about harmful effects the material could have on the 
environment.


An environmental official of Halifax Regional Municipality says the city is 
set to produce a type of biosolid from sewage treated by the harbour 
solutions project that could be used for crop fertilization.


“Our intention is to reuse and recycle, rather than dispose of material with 
the potential for reuse,” says Tony Blouin, manager of environmental 
performance (water).


Biosolids are cake-like patties formed when excess water is removed from 
sludge that remains after sewage water is treated. The patties are heated to 
high temperatures to kill harmful bacteria and reduce or eliminate potential 
pathogens. The product is then mixed with cement dust to prepare it for use 
in fertilizers.


City officials say they will perform continuous tests on both the treated 
sludge and water to ensure the levels of toxins and metals meet federal 
regulations.


But HRM residents could still be susceptible to other chemicals when the 
biosolids are put back into the environment as fertilizer, a Dalhousie 
resource and environmental studies professor says.


“We don’t know what things will end up in the sludge and what will go back 
into the harbour after treatment,” says Roy Cote. “Some places in North 
America and Europe have discovered drugs applied to humans that are going 
right through their systems and into the sewer.”


Current rules don’t require testing on the levels of prescription drugs 
present in the treated sludge or water.


Blouin says prescription drugs likely end up in sewage wastes and the 
federal government will need to conduct research to identify levels that are 
acceptable.

The biosolids processing plant will be located near the airport, close to an 
existing biosolids lagoon when construction is complete this fall, says 
Blouin.


In 2003, a farmer from the Truro area wanted to apply biosolids on his 
fields. Neighbours complained of the smell and clouds of lime visible in the 
air during the treatment process. The province later revoked the approval 
for biosolids application and devised new guidelines.


Cote says if proper odour controls aren’t maintained while the sludge is 
processed, nearby residents may complain.



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Kelly, Strahl to discuss beetle, biosolids
Tory minister touring region
By JUDY MYRDEN Staff Reporter
ADVERTISEMENT



A foreign pest and a biosolids plant will be hot topics today between 
Halifax’s mayor and the federal agriculture minister.

Chuck Strahl and Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly will meet at 10 a.m. at city 
hall.

Mr. Kelly said the municipality needs "flexibility" and "understanding" from 
the federal government in dealing with the problem of the brown spruce 
longhorn beetle in an area where the forest industry is an important 
employer.

A federal agency, the Canadian Food and Inspection Agency, which monitors 
activity of the beetles, is proposing to expand the quarantine zone to limit 
the spread of the pest.

The beetles, which were first discovered eating through the trees in Point 
Pleasant Park in Halifax’s south end, have spread outside of the original 
quarantine area set up back in 2000 that included an 828-kilometre 
perimeter. The proposed new zone, which covers 5,577 square kilometres of 
Halifax Regional Municipality, would stretch into Colchester and Hants 
counties.

The Maritime Lumber Bureau has proposed a plan with smaller pockets of 
quarantined areas, at the invitation of the agency.

Mr. Kelly said the city does not want the zone expanded and will try and 
"work with the federal government" on addressing this issue.

The city also wants to obtain’s Ottawa’s approval to produce agricultural 
fertilizer at a $250-million biosolids processing plant at the Aerotech 
Business Park, near Halifax Robert L. Stanfield International Airport.

Mr. Strahl is travelling in the region, where on Saturday he announced in 
Fredericton $294,500 in federal funding for a pilot project for a local 
refinery to produce environmentally friendly bio-diesel, fuel conditioners, 
and lubricants from canola, mustard and soybeans.( jmyrden at herald.ca)

http://www.herald.ns.ca/Metro/562541.html