Sludge Watch ==> Caroline Snyder responds to Sludge Compost story

[Maureen Reilly]

http://www.qcsunonline.com/news/compost_5606___article.html/soil_water.html

Compost: Nature's trash is your garden's treasure
By Tom Dominguez, New Mexico
January 19 2008

Talking to Joe Ramirez, city of Tucumcari Wastewater superintendent, the 
best compost to get is through the city waste water department.
It only cost you the effort and time to go by and pick it up. According to 
Ramirez, the biosolids that come from wastewater go through an industrial 
digestive process for seven to eight days to remove any and all pathogens 
and odors. It then goes onto drying beds until it is 90 percent to 95 
percent solid. That means most or all of the moisture is out of the 
material.All this follows strict government regulations.

It is then piled and has non-waste water added to get the moisture content 
back up to 40% which then begins the decomposing system. Regulation says it 
must be turned five times within 15 days at a temperature of 135 degrees 
Fahrenheit. The compost is then tested to make sure all pathogens are 
killed. Compost must also meet Vector Attraction reduction requirements.
If all is well and every requirement, regulation, and time periods are met 
then the biosolids then are awarded a Class “A” compost and is ready for the 
public.
Consult with Ramirez on times and availability, handling instructions and 
you and your garden will reap the benefits of an abundant crop and 
flourishing landscape.
- Tom Dominguez
To contact the city’s Wastewater Department, call 461-3451.


Tom Dominguez is an agent with the Quay County Extension, NMSU, Extension 
Service



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>From Caroline Snyder:

I read with interest the Jan 17 article by Tom Dominguez, titled "Nature's 
Trash is your Garden Treasure."
Calling sewage sludge compost "nature's trash" is very misleading. This 
material contains hazardous industrial toxic metals and chemical compounds 
discarded by industry, not by nature. Every month, every business and 
industry in the country can legally discharge 33 pounds of hazardous waste 
into the nation's sewers.
Federal regulations permit sludge compost to contain 41 mg/kg of arsenic, 39 
mg/kg of cadmium, 300 mg/kg of lead, 17 mg/kg of mercury, 420 mg/kg of 
nickel, 1500 mg/kg of copper, and 2800 mg/kg of zink. Add to this
an array of organic chemical compounds, some of which are toxic and 
persistent.
Last summer,sludge generated at the wastewater treatment plant in Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin ( makers of Milorganite) contained such high levels of PCBs that 
the material had to be shipped out of state to a federally approved landfill 
for hazardous waste. Yet federal regulations do not require testing sludges 
for PCBs or for many other harmful chemical compounds.
Extension service personnel, with the encouragement of the United States 
Department of Agriculture and EPA's Office of Water, promote the use of this 
complex contaminated waste as "fertilizer". But prudent gardeners might 
prefer to use soil amendments that truly only contain "nature's trash," such 
as leaf and yard waste, food scraps, and properly treated animal manures. 
Especially if they plan to use compost for growing vegetables.

Caroline Snyder Ph.D.
Citizens for Sludge-Free Land
www.sludgefacts.org <http://www.sludgefacts.org>
1/19/2008 9:28:12 AM