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National Experts Respond to Biosolids
Questions
TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- The land application of treated sewage sludge (biosolids) for
agriculture is a safe and environmentally beneficial practice,
several national experts told Florida Department of Environmental
Protection (D.E.P.) officials and local residents on Wednesday in
Tampa.
The public meeting, held by Florida's
D.E.P. featured an overview of current land application issues,
discussion of potential regulatory changes, public comments and
remarks by biosolids industry representatives.
 "After
flushing the toilet most people don't think about where their waste
goes or where it may end up. When you or I wash our hands, what goes
down the drain goes to a wastewater treatment facility,"
explained Bob O'Dette, Vice President of Technical Services for
Synagro Technologies, the nation's leading provider of residual
management services. Synagro operates in Florida and 34 other
states. "The waste is processed and treated and the water is
cleaned and returned to our streams, rivers and lakes. The solids
remaining are further treated to reduce pathogens and pollutants and
then recycled as a nutrient rich fertilizer on farmland,"
O'Dette told the Tampa audience.
Biosolids recycling is the most
environmentally beneficial use of this product, according to the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Land applications of
biosolids have been safely practice throughout the U.S. for over 30
years, said O'Dette.
Dr. Ian Pepper, a nationally known
scientist and Director of the National Science Foundation Water
Quality Center at the University of Arizona, responded to the
growing concerns by some Florida residents in a statement
distributed at the meeting. "Recent controversy over the land
application of biosolids has been characterized by allegations and
misinformation rather than sound scientific studies. Additionally,
the public has been confused and at times scared by anecdotal
reports that link land application to adverse public health effects.
Therefore, what is needed are more scientific studies and education
of the public on the results of these studies," Pepper said.
Pepper participated in an 18-month
study for the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) on the science and
safety of biosolids. "Biosolids Applied to Land: Advancing
Standards and Practices," the 266-page report by a 16-member
panel of national scientists, of which Ian Pepper was a member, said
in its overarching findings: "There is no documented scientific
evidence that the Part 503 Rule (EPA's regulations) has failed to
protect public health. However, additional scientific work is needed
to reduce persistent uncertainty about the potential for adverse
human health effects from exposure to biosolids. There have been
anecdotal allegations of disease, and many scientific advances have
occurred since the Part 503 Rule was promulgated (in 1993)."
While the NAS panel recommended a
number of steps to further ensure the public about the safety of
biosolids land application, including additional resources for the
EPA to support its biosolids regulatory program, the report said
that the NAS panel "recognizes that land application of
biosolids is a widely used, practical option for managing the large
volume of sewage sludge generated at wastewater treatment plants
that otherwise would largely need to be disposed of at landfills or
by incineration."
Dr. Pepper's latest research
findings, which have been targeted to fill the science information
gaps outlined in the NAS report, include his work in the field of
bioaerosols. He recently discussed the potential link between
biosolids and staphylococcus aureus (staph aureus) and said:
"Although many bioaerosol samples have been taken within two
meters of land application sites, no staph aureus was ever detected
in the bioaerosol samples. Furthermore, although as might be
expected, staph aureus was found in raw sewage, it was never
detected in a variety of biosolids samples collected and analyzed
nationally from the southwest to the east coast."
In a prepared statement, Ken Kirk,
the Executive Director of the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage
Agencies, in Washington, D.C. said: "Municipal wastewater
treatment plant managers believe that land applying treated
biosolids is a safe and environmentally beneficial use of an
abundant natural resource." AMS is a trade association
representing nearly 300 publicly owned wastewater treatment
facilities.
Tim Williams, Water Environment
Federation (WEF) Director of Government Affairs, explained that
"biosolids public education efforts are necessary to inform
various audiences about the benefits of recycling and to enhance our
nation's water quality."
Williams said that a communications
void -- at times filled by misinformation posted on the world-wide
web -- has raised public concerns and created political pressure for
biosolids restrictions or bans. In a statement distributed by
Synagro, Williams said that WEF believes in the benefits and safety
of biosolids land applications and is committed to providing
technical and educational support to the industry, elected and
regulatory officials, and others in Florida.
According to O'Dette, "The EPA,
which regulates land applications and actively encourages biosolids
recycling, has determined that the process represents a 'negligible
risk' to people, animals, and the environment. Whether driving a
car, eating, breathing, swimming in the ocean, or just coming to
this meeting in Tampa, we are all exposed to risks every day which
are carefully evaluated and assessed by the scientific and
regulatory community." For more than 20 years, O'Dette worked
as a regulator with the State of Tennessee's Department of
Environment and Conservation, where he had responsibility for
overseeing the state's municipal biosolids program. "I am proud
that I served and helped to protect the people of the State of
Tennessee," he told the Florida audience.
Biosolids are a nutrient-rich product
derived from treated sewage sludge in wastewater treatment plants
which is applied as a soil amendment to agricultural land in
approximately 25 to 30 Florida counties. The practice is approved,
regulated, and monitored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Florida
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
For additional information on the
recycling of biosolids including the benefits, safety and
environmental issues associated with land applications, contact: www.biosolids.com
; www.wef.org ; and www.epa.gov
. Contact: Bob O'Dette Office (713) 369-1731 Mobile: (281) 451-9268
Source: Synagro Technologies
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