Sludge Watch ==> Ontario Min of Environment comfortable not addressing sludge contaminants

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin:

The Ontario Ministry of Environment staff, like the staff in this story, are 
quoted as saying that spreading sewage sludge biosolids is 'safe'.  I have 
asked the Minister of the Environment to provide the studies that show that 
sludge spreading is 'safe'.  No answer.

The EPA Ombudsmans office says that sludge spreading in the US cannot be 
deemed safe since the research has not been undertaken to demonstrate such 
an assertion.

The Water Environment Association of Ontario did a sludge review and found 
that just like in the USA the issues of pathogens (disease causing agents) 
has not been adequately investigated in the land application of sewage 
sludge.

There is no research to demonstrate sludge is 'safe'. Indeed there is much 
information to the contrary.  These officials should produce the data to 
back their claims or stop misleading the public.

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


http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=879001




Getting to the bottom of biosolids
Posted By Joyce Cassin, Northumberland Today, Ontario, Canada
January 29, 2008


Whether it's called biosolids, sewage sludge, hu-doo or humanure, waste from 
Waste Water Treatment Plants from across the province is being spread on 
agricultural lands and causing a stink - in more ways than one.

Groups are forming across the province protesting the spreading of human 
waste on farm fields, claiming the practice is unsafe and dangerous to human 
health, yet the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MoE) has been approving 
the land application of biosolids for more than 30 years with no documented 
health or environmental impacts when requirements were followed, says Eileen 
Smith, manager, policy and special projects, Waste Management Policy Branch.

"The spreading of organic nutrients on agricultural lands, be they biosolids 
or manure, is considered beneficial to crop production and, provided 
appropriate standards and practices are followed, is safe to both human 
health and the environment," said Ms. Smith. "Our requirements, developed by 
MoE/OMAFRA (Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs) 
scientists and agrologists, are constantly reviewed (setbacks from 
residences, wells, watercourses; waiting periods after application), as are 
results of analysis of biosolids and soil where applied. Research is 
conducted into new areas when they arise, for example personal care 
products, and requirements are updated as we are able to and as appropriate, 
for example e-coli standard in Nutrient Management Act (NMA), that was 
implemented through the Nutrient Management Regulation. We strive for 
continuous improvement of the practice to make sure that biosolids 
applications are safe for humans and animals."

Biosolids are treated-and-tested sewage sludge utilized as soil amendment 
and fertilizer. During wastewater treatment, bacteria and other 
microorganisms break down components in wastewater into simpler and more 
stable forms of organic matter. Non-organic matter also settles into sludge. 
For instance, small amounts (parts per million) of heavy metals and other 
potentially toxic materials, including flame-retardants (PBDEs) and 
persistent organic pollutants, are commonly found in sewage sludge in 
parts-per-million levels. What does not settle into sludge leaves the 
treatment facility as a treated wastewater effluent. Biosolids in their 
liquid form look like muddy water and contain one to 10 per cent solids.

Wendy Deavitt of Warkworth Citizens Against Sewage Sludge says 
anti-biosolids groups like hers are concerned with the possibility that 
diseases such as AIDS or SARS as well as pharmaceuticals and industrial and 
hospital chemicals and wastes may be in the biosolids, claiming these are 
making them ill.

"I've seen studies that show pathogens don't die during processing," said 
Ms. Deavitt. "They heat the sludge to 37 degrees (Celsius), and that makes 
bacteria grow."

Ms. Deavitt added that by combining and heating these various bacteria, 
viruses and chemical wastes, "superbugs" are being created.

Ms. Smith said a study conducted in 2001 by the Water Environment 
Association of Ontario (Fate and Significance of Selected Contaminants in 
Sewage Biosolids Applied to Agricultural Land Through Literature Review and 
Consultation with Stakeholder Groups) that was funded by MoE, Environment 
Canada and nine municipalities, set out aspects of biosolids that further 
needed investigation, and it has led to some of the ongoing research.

The environment ministry, in collaboration with Agriculture-Agri Food 
Canada, Health Canada, Trent University and the agriculture ministry have 
determined the potential offsite movement of pharmaceuticals and personal 
care products (PPCPs) from fields where liquid municipal biosolids have been 
applied.

"We have conducted field plot studies in Ontario to determine the fate of 
PPCPs following the land application of liquid municipal biosolids under the 
supervision of Dr. Edward Topp at Agriculture Agri Food Canada," said Ms. 
Smith. "His studies have determined that the total mass of the 
pharmaceuticals released into the aquatic environment from runoff from 
agricultural fields amended with biosolids in the province of Ontario were 
orders of magnitude lower than the total mass of these compounds estimated 
to be released in the effluent of Ontario wastewater plants."

Further to that, Ms. Smith says it was determined that when liquid municipal 
biosolids were land applied by injection, the concentration of 
pharmaceuticals was generally below the limits of quantification, however, 
when biosolids were surface-applied pharmaceuticals were detected in the 
runoff in parts per trillion (minute quantities).

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The provincial environment ministry is also working in collaboration with 
Agriculture Agri-Food Canada under the 2007 Canada-Ontario Agreement 
Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem ("COA") to evaluate the 
persistence and action of chemicals in soils and biosolids. The study will 
determine the persistence and fate of a selected group of organic compounds 
including pharmaceuticals, antimicrobial agents, personal care products such 
as fragrances (musks) and flame-retardants from biosolid amended fields, she 
says. "The ministry is partnering in research with the Ontario Ministry of 
Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs, universities and the federal government 
to determine the fate and persistence of these compounds, to develop 
analytical methods, to conduct monitoring studies, and to assess treatment 
technologies for the removal of these compounds in Ontario source water, 
drinking water and in treated and untreated municipal sewage," said Ms. 
Smith.

Currently, haulers and applicators need a Certificate of Approval for 
hauling and applying sewage biosolids and for the site where they are 
applied. The land application of non-agricultural source materials (NASM) is 
currently subject to the Nutrient Management Regulation requirements. The 
use of high-trajectory guns for the spraying of liquid non-agricultural 
source nutrients is banned; a minimum 20-metre setback from surface water is 
required for all non-agricultural source materials; spreading of sewage 
biosolids is banned between December 1 and March 31, and at any time outside 
those dates when the ground is frozen or snow-covered. Additionally, 
application on farms that are phased into the NMA requires approved nutrient 
management strategies and plans, she says.

"We know that the requirements are being followed because we have the 200 or 
so inspections a year that show us that the rules are followed," said Ms. 
Smith. "We also get reports from citizens when they believe that the rules 
are not followed. The ministry follows up when the rules are not followed. 
We investigate and where there is a problem, we follow up with the 
applicator, up to prosecuting them in court where there are fines."

She says ministry staff members undertake a number of compliance and 
enforcement activities to ensure non-agricultural source materials are 
land-applied in accordance with current standards. They review applications 
for site and hauler approvals, conduct pre-approval site assessments (this 
is a standard practice in the site approval process), conduct inspections 
once sites have been approved to assess compliance with conditions on the 
approval (on average approximately 200 inspections per year out of about 500 
applications). They also respond to reports of pollution or other incidents 
resulting from the storage, transport, and land application of 
non-agricultural source materials and waste from septic tanks.

Requirements set out in the certificate of approval (based on the Guidelines 
for the Utilization of Biosolids and Other Wastes on Agricultural Land, 
1996) are designed to ensure that the biosolids and their application are 
safe; e.g. sampling and analysis for metals in the biosolids and in the 
receiving soils, application rates and setbacks. Sewage biosolids must be 
analyzed for 11 metals (arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, mercury, 
molybdenum, nickel, lead, selenium, zinc) within a prescribed timeframe and 
in a prescribed manner. The biosolids cannot be applied unless they meet 
ministry standards. Pre-approval inspections are done of sites before they 
are approved to receive biosolids. There are requirements on how long after 
application of the biosolids crops can be harvested or animals can be grazed 
on the field.

"We do not require analysis for the chemicals from personal care products 
and pharmaceuticals, although we are now able to measure them," said Ms. 
Smith. "So we are analysing them and doing research on their impacts, both 
ourselves and with others. At this point we are comfortable with proceeding 
without addressing them."

jcassin at northumberlandtoday.com