Sludge Watch ==> Canada - Leader of Green Party Brands Sewage Sludge Unsafe

[Maureen Reilly]

http://www.eastnorthumberland.com/article.php?id=1913

Week of February 7, 2008

Leader brands sewage unsafe


by Eoin Callan
The Independent, Brighton, East Northumberland Ontario Canada


The local campaign to halt the spreading of treated human sewage on farm 
lands has received the backing of the federal leader of the Green Party.

Party leader Elizabeth May told The Independent the application of biosolids 
to agricultural land was a “mistake” and should be halted.

The endorsement gives the residents campaign national backing and will 
increase pressure on the county and municipalities to enact moratoriums or 
outright bans.

Neighbouring Prince Edward County ordered a moratorium on the spreading of 
biosolids two months ago amid mounting public health concerns.

The Green Party leader said the treated sewage posed a risk because it 
contained “heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, and toxic chemicals”.

John Graham, the Green Party’s federal candidate for Northumberland-Quinte 
West, said: “It is not enough to take out the e-coli and coli form.”

Ms. May said she would advocate for federal action, adding: “Health Canada 
has dropped the ball.”

Conservative MP Rick Norlock said providing free biosolids to farmers was a 
matter for municipal and provincial governments.

Sewage from the waste treatment plant in Cobourg is currently delivered to 
farmers in Northumberland County as free fertilizer. Ms. May said the 
practice was being driven by municipalities looking for low-cost ways to 
dispose of sewage.

“It is a waste disposal method, not an agricultural practice,” the party 
leader said.

Extra costs have been one of the main factors cited by public officials in 
favour of continuing the practice.

Officials at the Cobourg plant insist there is “nothing to worry about” 
and that the residential, commercial and industrial sewage is “completely 
safe” once treated.

But a leading toxicologist recently called for an urgent study of the 
potential health hazards posed by biosolids after examining residents in the 
Warkworth area.

The residents live on land neighbouring fields treated with biosolids and 
have reported health problems they fear are linked to the spreading of 
sewage.

Residents have called for a moratorium and a review of the current regime, 
which operates under provincial regulations they criticize as overly lax.

They argue the current guidelines fall well short of international best 
practice because the biosolids are spread too close to homes and often 
sprayed rather than injected into the soil.

Residents also argue the biosolids are delivered haphazardly by convoys of 
trucks from the treatment plant in Cobourg without sufficient public notice.

Local MPP Lou Rinaldi told The Independent there might be “room for 
improvement”.

“I can’t comment on whether it is good or bad,” the member of the 
provincial parliament said recently, adding: “I’m not saying close the 
file.”

The MPP said that public health officials in Trent Hills had recently pushed 
residents concerns “up the ladder” to provincial authorities and were 
awaiting a response.