[USCC] Sewage Sludge Linked to Illnesses
compost@compostingcouncil.org
compost@compostingcouncil.org
Wed Aug 7 11:49:02 2002
I agree with Rufus' comments.
I have worked around (and in) sewage sludge and biosolids, both Class A
compost and Class B land application for almost 20 years and have never
gotten any illness or infection that I thought had any link to the sludge.
I would be among the first to champion changes in sludge regs if I genuinely
believed that there was a health issue involved. Perhaps there is a great
variation in sludge and biosolids quality across the country.
Jody Slagle
City of Austin
-----Original Message-----
From: Rufus Chaney [mailto:chaneyr@ba.ars.usda.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, August 06, 2002 5:33 PM
To: compost@compostingcouncil.org
Subject: RE: [USCC] Sewage Sludge Linked to Illnesses
Dear Mr. Quinn:
Please tell us some details of the compost you were exposed to. Was it a
Class A product permitted for commercial use? Which composting facility? How
long after the composting was completed did your exposure occur?
Was this the only source of S. aureus exposure you had at that time?
As you know, properly composted anything reaches temperatures for periods of
time which kill this organism. If you did have a compost-mediated infection,
it is important that the conditions be clarified. If proper composting
according to 503 did not protect against this infection, EPA needs to know
about it. Dr. James Smith at EPA Cincinatti, OH, is the official who should
receive reports about suspected disease caused by commercial biosolids or
composted products.
Regards,
Rufus Chaney
>>> wquinn@anla.org 08/06/02 03:58PM >>>
I got a Staphylococcus aureus infection of my skin from handling composted
sewage sludge ("biosolids") at my home, so that's enough research for me.
It was easily treated with antibiotics, but it could have been bad news if I
had not recognized it as something to see the doctor about before it got
very far. Now that I know about this risk, it is fairly simple to keep it
from happening again by wearing a dust mask and gloves, not scratching any
itches while working with it, and washing up well with an antibacterial
soap. Not sure where the PR is on this, but it seems to me that the
industry is not being very pro-active in educating the companies using the
product (I was in the landscape business for several years in the 80's and
never heard of any risks with using the product to amend soil on residential
landscapes), and the general public is certainly not aware of it - yet.
Which makes this a a classic case of a need for an industry to get ahead of
the negative PR curve - educating people about the risks and how to minimize
them - or risk a comprehensive regulatory response that would hurt the
industry.
____________________________________
Warren A. Quinn, Esq.
Director of Operations
American Nursery & Landscape Association
1000 Vermont Ave., NW Suite 300
Washington, DC 20005
direct: 202/789-5980, ext 3009
fx: 202/789-1893
email: wquinn@anla.org
-----Original Message-----
From: compost-admin@compostingcouncil.org
[mailto:compost-admin@compostingcouncil.org]On Behalf Of Stephen Grealy
Sent: Tuesday, August 06, 2002 12:32 PM
To: compost@compostingcouncil.org
Cc: biosoils@aol.com
Subject: [USCC] Sewage Sludge Linked to Illnesses
Anyone else familiar with this research? :
AmeriScan: August 2, 2002
* Sewage Sludge Linked to Illnesses
anchor4Sewage Sludge Linked to Illnesses
ATHENS, Georgia, August 2, 2002 (ENS) - A study by researchers at the
University of Georgia (UGA) links the use of sewage sludge as fertilizer
with a host of health problems.
Burning eyes, burning lungs, skin rashes and other symptoms of illness were
found in the study of residents living near land fertilized with Class B
biosolids, a byproduct of the human waste treatment process. Researchers
found that affected residents lived within about one kilometer (0.6 miles)
of land application sites and complained of irritation after exposure to
winds blowing from treated fields.
Staphylococcus aureus infections, a condition causing symptoms like diaper
rash, were found in the skin and respiratory tracts of some individuals.
About 25 percent of the individuals surveyed were infected, and two died.
The 54 individuals surveyed lived near 10 land application sites in Alabama,
California, Florida, New Hampshire, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania and Texas.
S. aureus is commonly found in the lower human colon and tends to invade
irritated or inflamed tissue.
"The EPA did not consider S. aureus to be a significant public health risk
even though it is a leading cause of hospital acquired infections and is
commonly found in sewage," said David Lewis, a UGA research microbiologist
also affiliated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA)
National Exposure Research Laboratory. "When approving sludge for use as a
fertilizer, EPA looked at chemical and pathogen risks separately without
considering that certain chemicals could increase the risk of infection."
Chemicals such as lime, which is added during sludge processing, can
irritate the skin and respiratory tract and make people more susceptible to
infection, Lewis explained.
Though modern treatment can eliminate more than 95 percent of the pathogens,
enough remain in the concentrated Class B sludge leaving treatment plants to
pose a health risk, Lewis said. In 1989, an EPA study found 25 groups of
pathogens in sludge, including bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella,
viruses, including hepatitis A, intestinal worms, harmful protozoa, and
fungus.
Sludge also includes traces of household chemicals poured down drains,
detergents from washing machines, heavy metals from industry, synthetic
hormones from birth control pills, pesticides, and dioxins, a group of
compounds that have been linked to cancer.
On July 2, the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences
(NAS) concluded that there may be public health risks from using processed
sewage sludge as a commercial fertilizer. About 60 percent of an estimated
5.6 million tons of dry sludge is used or disposed of each year in the
United States.
"Most people are not aware this is going on in the U.S.," said Gattie. "Most
people don't realize that a concentrated sludge of waste products is being
processed into a cheap commercial fertilizer and applied to fields near our
homes. 'Biosolids' does not connote 'sewage' to most people."
The study is the first linking adverse health effects in humans to the land
application of Class B biosolids to be published in a medical journal. The
article appeared in the July 2002 issue of a British medical journal, "BMC
Public Health."
* * *
Stephen Grealy
Recycling Program Supervisor
City of San Diego
Environmental Services Department
9601 Ridgehaven Court,
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 573-1275
sgrealy@sandiego.gov <mailto:sgrealy@sandiego.gov>
_______________________________________________
Compost maillist - Compost@compostingcouncil.org
This list is a service provided by the US Composting Council.
Ongoing sponsors of the discussion list are:
Growing Solutions,Inc. Producers and distributors of products for
sustainable agriculture, specializing in compost tea equipment appropriate
for a wide range of applications. Contact 888.600.9558 or
www.growingsolutions.com
Food Industry Environmental Network (FIEN), a regulatory and policy e-mail
alert service for environmental, food and agricultural industry
professionals.
Contact Jack Cooper 301/384-8287 JLC@fien.com --- www.fien.com
Renewable Carbon Management, LLC with the containerized in-vessel NaturTech
Composting System www.composter.com rcm@composter.com
Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the USCC, the Foundation or
Board of Directors.
Non-members of USCC are encouraged to join the Council through our website
at: http://www.compostingcouncil.org/membership.cfm For discussion list
policies and information regarding subscribing, unsubscribing, digest or
other options, go to:http://mailman.cloudnet.com/mailman/listinfo/compost
For additional help in unsubscribing or to report bugs and problems, send a
message to the List Manager, Jim McNelly, at jim@composter.com