Sludge Watch ==> Milwaukee Milorganite ordeal ...sewage pipe may be abandonned

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin:

The fact that all this Milorganite material went out into the community 
before discovering the heavy PCB contamination shows how the regulations 
managing sewage sludge are totally inadequate.
Not only was there inadequate means of detecting the PCB contamination to 
prevent wholesale contamination of public property, but PCBs themselves were 
not even included in the NAS risk assessment since their production was 
halted.


But since PCBs are persistant materials and landfill leachates are often 
tankered into to sewage plants many toxic compounds will be recycled into 
communities if we continue to allow these fecally contaminated municipal 
sewage sludges to be 'recycled' into our communities and our food lands.

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http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=658047

Another sewage pipe found to be coated, might have to be abandoned

By DON BEHM
dbehm at journalsentinel.com
Posted: Sept. 5, 2007

Besides two sewers that have been identified as the source of PCBs that 
contaminated fertilizer, a third sewer in the metro area is known to harbor 
sediment and debris contaminated with the banned chemical compounds.

Later this month, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District will consider 
awarding a $191,560 contract to K. Singh & Associates of Elm Grove to test 
sediment in the bottom of a regional interceptor sewer at W. Lincoln Ave. 
and S. 35th St.

The debris has the consistency of "black bread dough," said Peter 
Topczewski, water quality protection manager for the sewerage district. The 
tar-like gunk extends more than half a mile on the bottom of the pipe at 
depths of up to 10 inches, he said. It blocks more than one-fourth of the 
36-inch diameter pipe in places.

The gunk was discovered in 2005 while a crew cleaned the sewer. It contains 
up to 47 parts per million of PCBs, and the waste likely was discharged to 
the sewer "before the early 1980s," Topczewski said.

Singh & Associates will estimate the total volume of the gunk and verify PCB 
levels, he said. In addition, MMSD is asking the contractor to recommend 
whether to clean up the mess or abandon that section of sewer.

Topczewski fears that removing the half-mile stretch of gunk, and cleaning 
the remaining 5 miles or more of the sewer downstream of the site, could 
release some of the chemicals to wastewater flowing in the pipe. The 
wastewater would end up at Jones Island, where the sewage sludge could be 
contaminated again, he said.

"Building a replacement sewer around this section might be more feasible" 
financially than a cleanup, he said.

Pushing a liner into the sewer, and losing some capacity, is another option.

Routine flows of wastewater do not dislodge the PCBs, Topczewski said. Such 
gunk has to be scraped off the pipe.