[USCC] does composting remove chemicals, etc?

[john cossham]

I may be accused of being pedantic, but EVERYTHING is made of 'chemicals' 
and therefore this thread is a bit meaningless to a chemist.  Some chemicals 
are changed into others during composting, ie ammonia may be split into 
nitrogen and combine with O2 to make water vapour... and long-chain 
carbohydrates are degraded into sugars and fermented into carbon dioxide etc 
etc, so when talking about 'chemicals' can you be more specific please?
Thanks!
John 'the composter' Cossham, York, UK

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lynda Brushett" <brushett at metrocast.net>
To: <compost at mailman.cloudnet.com>
Sent: Friday, June 20, 2008 8:10 PM
Subject: [USCC] does composting remove chemicals, etc?


> Gary and others, If the manure goes through a digester, I understand 
> chemicals and pathogen are destroyed in the process,  meaning that  solids 
> separated from the effluent are free of pathogens and  chemicals and in 
> turn produce a clean compost.   Is this not the  case?  Lynda
>
> On Jun 20, 2008, at 1:00 PM, compost-request at mailman.cloudnet.com wrote:
>> Today's Topics:
>>
>>    1. Does composting rid of chemicals in manure? (Will Brinton)
>>
>> From: Will Brinton <wfbr17 at woodsend.org>
>> Date: June 18, 2008 4:32:13 PM EDT
>> To: Compost Discussion List <compost at mailman.cloudnet.com>
>> Subject: [USCC] Does composting rid of chemicals in manure?
>> Reply-To: Compost Discussion List <compost at mailman.cloudnet.com>
>>
>>
>> Gary-
>>
>> did anyone reply to your concern?
>>
>> I just reviewed a research paper from the Institute of Hygiene and 
>> Public Health, Bonn, Germany. It concludes that many antibiotics in 
>> manure do survive in soil (after manure application) for up to 90  days, 
>> and are therefore "relatively stable". It is now well known    that these 
>> could be uptaked by plants, and passed along the food  chain. Others are 
>> reported to have degraded rapidly. Composting  should be assumed to be 
>> similar to soil and possibly better  (i.e.composting is not necessarily 
>> faster in biodegradation).
>>
>> Interestingly, in the EU  annually about 15,000 tons of antibiotics  are 
>> administered to humans and animals, the non-metabolized  fraction of 
>> which will find its way via excretion into the  environment (mostly 
>> biosolids and released wastewater, and of  course manures). I am sure the 
>> quantities used are probably higher  in the USA for animals, and I am not 
>> sure for humans. Your concern  should be pursued until more information 
>> on composting is obtained.  See also the early forerunner paper (before 
>> use of antibiotics got  really intense):
>>
>> Vogtman, H.; W. Obrist, K. Hauser, H. P. P f i r t e r a n d F. 
>> Augstburger, 1978. Compost Science/Land Utilization. "Cornposting  and 
>> Plant Growth: Use o f c h i c k e n  M a n u r e  c o n t a i n  i n g  a 
>> n t i b i o t i c s "
>> Will Brinton
>>
>> Gary Bright wrote:
>>> Today I was asked this question from a watch-dog agency in Michigan;
>>> "How do you treat the 168 chemicals in the manure and the growth 
>>> hormones
>>> and antibiotics" ?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> -- 
>> Woods End Laboratories
>> - Bioenergy &  Biocompost Testing -
>> Mt Vernon ME 04352
>> www.woodsend.org
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
> Lynda Brushett, Ph. D.
> Cooperative Development Institute
> 603-664-5838
> www.cdi.coop
>
>
>
>
>