[USCC] FW: CNN story on remediating heavy metals in soils withworms in India

Wed Oct 31 11:08:06 CDT 2007

 I have been watching this discussion about metals and N2O in
vermicomposting. A few of us in the vermi industry talked about this
research when that article first came out. I contacted Dr Norman
Arancon, University of Ohio about a response to that article and
research.

Brian Rosa, Organic Recycling Specialist
NC DENR, DPPEA
1639 MailService Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1639
919-715-6524 work
810-252-8303 cell
brian.rosa at ncmail.net
Web: www.p2pays.org/compost

------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
From: Norman Q. Arancon [mailto:arancon.1 at osu.edu] 
Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2007 11:47 AM
To: Brian Rosa
Subject: Re: FW: [USCC] FW: CNN story on remediating heavy metals in
soils withworms in India

Hi Brian,

Thanks for your e-mail. This is what we have responded to the publisher
of the first article:

Earthworms are Not Endangering the Planet - A Rebuttal

These comments are in response to an article published in MRW on 21st
June 2007, entitled "Worms are Killing the Planet" that has attracted a
great deal of attention internationally. We feel we must respond because
the comments by Jim Frederickson have been taken as a statement of fact,
whereas we believe the conclusions that he reached were based on a
flawed research design, and some misinterpretation of the results of his
research. My comments are based on the experienced many years of
earthworm and vermicomposting research, authorship of more than 450
scientific publications, including 30 books (six on earthworm ecology
and biology and vermicomposting). I think I may claim that our
laboratory led by Dr. Norman Arancon, leads internationally in research
on vermicomposting.

In his most recently cited research paper, Dr. Frederickson compared
methane and nitrous oxide emissions from composting household wastes in
a windrow 2 m high, 3 m wide and 10 m long, which was turned every 7-14
days with those from 4 vermicomposting beds each with a bed area of 10
m2. The so-called vermicomposting beds were set up in a way no
commercial vermicomposting organization would use. The use of bedding
material at the bottom was of mixed wood chips about 20 cm deep, with
layers of household wastes, 10 to 15 cm deep added in a single layer and
earthworms at populations of 2 kg Dendrobaena veneta per m2 added (a
much lower population than recommended). These beds probably became
partially anaerobic. No data on the moisture content of either the
composting or vermicomposting were given, nor was it explained why a
single composting bed was compared to four vermicomposting beds of
different dimensions.

Analysis of the production of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) were
compared for 92 days. In the previous MRW article, it was quoted from
Dr. Frederickson that nitrous oxide emission can be 20 times more potent
than methane as greenhouse gases. In his most recent data, Dr.
Frederickson showed that 37 times more methane was produced from the
composting beds than the vermicomposting beds, whereas about 4 times
more nitrous oxide was produced in vermicomposting beds than in
composting beds. These figures from his own poorly-designed and
statistically-inadequate data showed that more harmful greenhouse gases
were produced in composting than in vermicomposting. Indeed, in an
earlier paper in 2002, on the same subject. Dr. Frederickson reported
that in large- scale vermicomposting there were no correlations between
the numbers of earthworms and amounts of nitrous oxide emissions.

At 10:13 AM 10/30/2007 -0400, you wrote:

 Hi Norman,
That article about worms producing N20 is back !

Brian

-----Original Message-----
From: compost-bounces at mailman.cloudnet.com
[mailto:compost-bounces at mailman.cloudnet.com] On Behalf Of William
(Bill) Carter
Sent: Monday, October 29, 2007 3:34 PM
To: compost at mailman.cloudnet.com
Subject: Re: [USCC] FW: CNN story on remediating heavy metals in soils
withworms in India

-----Original Message-----
From: compost-bounces at mailman.cloudnet.com
[mailto:compost-bounces at mailman.cloudnet.com] On Behalf Of William
(Bill) Carter
Sent: Monday, October 29, 2007 3:34 PM
To: compost at mailman.cloudnet.com
Subject: Re: [USCC] FW: CNN story on remediating heavy metals in soils
withworms in India

Hi Karin,

I don't think the article says the worms get burned.The nitrous oxide
emissions are from the vermicomposting process itself, part of the
volatile releases from the worms' metabolism and decomposition outside
the worms as well.

One of the research articles funded by the European Union is at
http://www.worms.com/pages.php?pageid=11. It shows typical emissions of
nitrous oxide from vermicomposting at right around 1/2 to one milligram
per square meter of composting surface per hour. So a quick calculation
shows that it would take a worm composting area one meter by one hundred
meters or more to produce one ton of N2O in an entire year. 

If you look at the analyses of the sources of N2O in the US in official
sources such as
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/archive/gg97rpt/chap4.html or
http://www.epa.gov/nitrousoxide/sources.html, you find that the
overwhelming majority of it comes from energy production (mobile and
stationary) and from agricultural land management  (including manure
management), with the ag portion coming primarily where nitrogen
fertilizer is applied above the crop requirement rate and not fully soil
incorporated and especially where aerobic and anaerobic processes
fluctuate through the soil or organic material media causing extensive
nitrification and denitrification.

So worm composting is probably a wash in overall N2O emissions to the
extent it yields a product that can substitute for soil fertility
materials with even higher N2O emissions. Still, it might be worth
looking at vermicomposting process controls to contain volatile nitrogen
losses through N2O, ammonia and other forms and stabilize more of them
into nitrates or other non-volatile forms.

Bill Carter
Water Quality Monitoring & Assessment    MC 165
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality P.O. Box 13087 Austin, TX
78711-3087
Phone:  512-239-6771
Fax:  512-239-4410
wcarter at tceq.state.tx.us

>>> kgrobe at pacbell.net 10/29/2007 11:20 AM >>>

They did say they burn the worms at the end of the process.  I guess
they're full of toxics.  
Karin Grobe
Organic Recyclers Anonymous

-----Original Message-----
From: compost-bounces at mailman.cloudnet.com
[mailto:compost-bounces at mailman.cloudnet.com] On Behalf Of Lowell Prag
Sent: Friday, October 26, 2007 9:25 AM
To: Compost Discussion List
Subject: Re: [USCC] FW: CNN story on remediating heavy metals in soils
with worms in India

On Thu, October 25, 2007 6:52 pm, Karin Grobe wrote:
Story and video at

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/10/22/eco.about.worms/

Karin Grobe
Organic Recyclers Anonymous

----------------

Hello,

Regarding this excerpt:

"...
Scientists in India have found that worms' digestive systems and
regenerative abilities are so remarkable that they can actually absorb
toxic materials yet expel toxic-free manure. According to the Indian
newspaper, India Together, researchers in Gujarat have found that worms
can "detox" the organic parts of the industrial sludge which results
from the effluent treatment of industrial or hazardous waste.
..."

No mention of the effects on the worms.

Regards,

Lowell Prag

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Join us at the US Composting Council's 16th Annual Conference & Trade
Show Oakland Marriott City Center, Oakland, CA | February 9-12, 2008.
The National forum for those involved in the development and expansion
of the composting and organics recycling industry.
Conference Highlights, Registration forms, Exhibitor information and
Sponsorship Opportunities available at the USCC website:
www.compostingcouncil.org or call the USCC at 631.737.4931
________________________________________________________________________
______
Compost maillist - compost at mailman.cloudnet.com
http://mailman.cloudnet.com/mailman/listinfo/compost
_______________________________________
This list is a service provided by the US Composting Council (USCC).
(c) Copyright 2004 United States Composting Council - All rights
reserved

Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the USCC, the
Foundation, or the Board of Directors.

Non-members of USCC are encouraged to join the Council through its
website at: http://www.compostingcouncil.org/membership.cfm

Members posting CC copies to the list and other addresses may have their
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For additional help in unsubcribing or to report bugs and problems, send
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