EPA fact sheet: Composting for Biosolids Management "Composting is not a sterilization process and a properly composted product maintains an active population of beneficial microorganisms that compete against the pathogenic members." http://deadlydeceit.com/Composting_biosolids.html
EPA study -- Occurrence of Pathogens in Distribution and Marketing Municipal Sludges "Although the use of sludge as a soil amendment is attractive, it is not without potential health risks. Toxic chemicals, including heavy metals and industrial organics, may enter the food chain and present long-term health risks." www.deadlydeceit.com/D_M_sludge.html
Toxic Organic sludge Dust is Not Good for You, Deaths doubled in 15 years --1980/1995 The year 1993 was not a good year for science, the law or public health. It was especially bad for farmers and the general public who depend on science and the law for protection from pollution. In 1993 the Water Environment Federation (WEF) documented that toxic organic sludge dust is a fire and explosive hazard very similar to grain dust. www.deadlydeceit.com/NSA-139
Before EPA released its sham of a regulation in 1993, the Australian government issued its "Statement of Principles concerning EXTRINSIC ALLERGIC ALVEOLITIS in the Veterans Entitlements Act" 1986. The government recognized that working with sewage sludge was a very dangerous occupational risk. www.rma.gov.au/SOP/97/057.pdf
In Canada, the government recognizes that exposure to dried sludge/biosolids will cause the respiratory disease "extrinsic allergic alveolitis". It is called: Sewage sludge disease www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/diseases/alveolitis.html
The importance of pathogenic organisms in sewage and sewage sludge ... illnesses cause 76 million cases of disease and 5000 deaths each year. ... infections and their consequences on pathogen loading of sewage and sewage sludge. ...J. Air Waste Manage. Assoc, 2001 - awma.org - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov www.deadlydeceit.com/Plant_uptake.html
"It is clear that composting causes serious health-related problems for compost workers including an excess of nasal, ear, and skin infections, burning eyes and skin irritation, increased fungal colonies, and higher white blood cell counts and hemolytic complement." "It is reasonable to assume that surrounding communities (exposed to the facility 24 hours a day, rather than the 8- hour work day) are also adversely affected, and anecdotal evidence indicates that may be the case." (p. 1) Both urban and rural communities across the country are reporting illnesses associated by their nearness to a composting facility. To mention just a few: Almaden, California in the West, Islip Township and South Bronx in New York in the East, and Franklin, Kentucky in the South. www.deadlydeceit.com/DD1.html
ANTIGENS AND ALLERGENS are a major concern for women and the elderly living near sludge disposal sites and for people who are exposed by using sewage sludge on their lawn and garden. Contaminated dust may collect in their homes causing Organic Toxic Dust syndrome, which may lead to pulmonary fibrosis. www.deadlydeceit.com/Bioaersols.htlm
Preliminary EPA research showing the wastewater treatment process cannot remove from biosolids disease-causing proteins known as prions could complicate the treatment industry's push to dispose of biosolids throughland application, rather than in landfills or by incineration, EPAscientists say Inside EPA - May 20, 2005 http://environmentalnewsstand.com/epanewsstand_spclsubj.asp?s=water
Regrowth of faecal coliforms and salmonellae in stored biosolids and soil amended with biosolids ***Institute for Environmental Science, Murdoch University Murdoch 6150 Australia** www.iwaponline.com/wst/03511/wst035110269.htm
A High-Level Disinfection Standard for Land-Applied Sewage Sludges (Biosolids) The potential for pathogen regrowth is the downside to sewage sludge being rich innutrients that promote the growth of bacteria and fungi.Exotoxins;"proteins and peptides secreted into the surrounding environment by growing cells",are produced by both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. They are usually the most toxic of the two general types of bacterial toxins. Because they can retain their toxicity at extremely high dilutions, some exotoxins, including staphylococcal enterotoxins and shigatoxin, are used as biological warfare agents. Traces of endotoxins in food and water can cause headaches, fever, fatigue, and severe gastrointestinal symptoms; however, their primary target is the lungs. In addition to the former symptoms, inhaling endotoxin- contaminated dusts can cause acute airflow obstruction, shock, and even death. www.ehp.niehs.nih.gov/members/2003/6207/6207.pdf
(In general, the densities of microorganism-containing aerosols were higher at night than during the day.) Appl Environ Microbiol. 1985 May; 49(5): 1191-1196.Copyright notice Effect of an activated sludge wastewater treatment plant on ambient air densities of aerosols containing bacteria and viruses.K F Fannin, S C Vana, and W Jakubowski http://www.pubmedcentral. nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=238528
"Pathogen Destruction and Biosolids Composting" in Biocycle of June of 1996, "There is some evidence that coliforms and Salmonella sp. can survive prolonged exposure to temperatures of 55 C." Droffner and Brinton found that it took 56 days and 90 days for the densities of Salmonella sp. and E. Coli, respectively, to decline below the detection limit...These investigators also "cite evidence of mutant strains of E. coli and Salmonella sp. resistant to thermal environments in composting." (p. 68)
Although the vegetative cell of bacteria is usually killed by heat and disinfectant, the endospore is resistant to agents that kill the vegetative cell (heating, drying, freezing, chemicals, and radiation). "Nester, Roberts, Pearsall and McCarthy (1978) in their text Microbiology point out the threat that endospores present."
Linne and Ringsrud (1979) in their text Basic Techniques for the Medical Laboratory also point out how spores, as highly resistant forms of bacteria, pose a great problem in sterilization. They state that certain spores have been known to survive 16 hours of boiling. (p. 452)
Viable but non-culturable states A phenomena commonly known as viable but non-culturable state has been described for many bacteria including Campylobacter, E. coli, Salmonella enteritidis, Vibrio cholerae,Vibrio spp., and Legionella pneumophila (Rollins and Colwell, 1986; Chowdhury et al.,1994; Roszak, Grimes, & Colwell, 1984; Oliver et al., 1995) . The bacteria are still viable (exhibit low levels of metabolic activity) but fail to develop colonies on most traditionalsolid culture medium. Moreover, pathogens in this viable but non-culturable state have demonstrated the ability to return to an active potentially disease causing state (Colwell etal., 1985) www.deadlydeceit.com/SludgeScience.html
Soil and human health: a review Soil can affect human health in several ways leading either to specific diseases or to more general ill health. Some illnesses are caused by people's eating soil (geophagia), or by their inhaling it which can lead to malignancy if the soil contains asbestiform minerals; pathogens in the soil can lead to tetanus and infestations of hookworm, and particles may enter the body through abrasions and cause a form of elephantiasis. The European Journal of Soil Science Volume 48 Issue 4 Page 573 - December 1997 http://www.blackwell-synergy. com/links/doi/10.1046%2Fj.1365-2389.1997.00124.x?cookieSet=1
Monitoring of Bioaerosol Emission from a Sludge Composting ... The maladies include extrinsic asthma, extrinsic allergic alveolitis, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis ... at various loca tions in a sewage sludge compost http://www.cyut.edu.tw/~soe/ijase/2003/ijase_1(2)_6_ch.htm
The toxicities of many metals, such as mercury and lead, are known to man since the dawn of civilization. Organic compounds of some heavy metals are known to have a particular toxic impact on the central nervous system. Organomercury, particularly alkyl-mercuric compounds (e.g. methylmercury), has a selective effect on the granule cells of the cerebellum, the nerve cells of the calcarine cortex, and the sensory neurons in the dorsal root ganglia. J Toxicol Sci 1990 Dec;15 Suppl 4:125-51 www.deadlydeceit.com/Organics.html
Total edible tissue mercury and selenium content of sludge-grown crops averaged four and two times higher, respectively, than that of crops grown on untreated soil. In terms of plant/soil concentration factors, selenium was more readily assimilated by crops than mercury. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 1981 Nov;10(6):673-89. www.deadlydeceit.com/Plant_uptake.html
Studies show that tobacco will take up chemicals from hazardous waste derived fertilizers, including sludge, at a 20 to 1 ratio www.penweb.org/issues/sludge/112.htm
Fate of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium on Carrots and Radishes Grown in Fields Treated with Contaminated Manure Composts or Irrigation Water. Salmonellae persisted for an extended period of time, with the bacteria surviving in soil samples for 203 to 231 days, and were detected after seeds were sown for 84 and 203 days on radishes and carrots, respectively www. pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=383101
Neurotoxicity from Municipal Sewage Sludge By Raymond Singer, Ph.D.October, 1999 Based on results of the Neurotoxicity Screening Survey, symptoms consistent with neurotoxicity were found in all who completed the test. The two children born and raised on the farm have been classified by their schools as mildly retarded and having attention-deficit disorders, although there was no family history of these illnesses www.expertlaw.com/library/toxicology/sewage_sludge.html
"Airborne Irritant Contact Dermatitis due to Sewage "Sludge" in the Journal of Occupational Medicine, November 1981, 23, (11) p. 771-4 reported how an airborne irritant in sewage sludge caused an outbreak of cases of dermatitis among incinerator workers employed in a sewage treatment facility.
"Neurotoxic Effects of Solvent Exposure on Sewage Treatment Workers" in the Archives of Environmental Health, July/August, 1988, 43, (4), pp. 263-68. They found after examining nineteen STWs (Sewage Treatment Workers) exposed to industrial sewage that contained benzene, toluene, and other organic solvents at a primary sewage treatment plant in New York City (Plant A). "that fourteen (74%) complained of central nervous system (CNS) symptoms consistent with solvent exposure, including lightheadedness, fatigue, increased sleep requirement, and headache."
"Work Related Symptoms Among Sewage Workers" in the British Journal of Industrial Medicine in August 1983, revealed that a higher proportion of employees at sewage treatment plants reported skin disorders, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal symptoms than the control group. The results of a clinical investigation that was made among workers in a sewage treatment plant in Switzerland with similar aged workers in a control group who were not exposed to sewage showed that in about half of the exposed workers there were acute incidences of fever and eye symptoms.
"Studies on Humans Exposed to Airborne Sewage "Sludge", Journal Article with English abstract, Schweiz Med Wochenschr, February 12, 1977, 107 (6), pp. 182-4).
"Biological Health Risks Associated with the Composting of Wastewater" , they found there were biological effects on the workers from their exposure to composts. Physical examinations of the control group revealed there was an excess of abnormal eye, ear, nose and skin conditions among the workers exposed to the composts. Nose and throat cultures were positive for Aspergillus fumigatus. In Journal of Water Pollution Control Federation, 1984. 57 (12), pp. 1269-76
Composting causes serious health related problems for compost workers including an excess of nasal, ear, and skin infections, burning eyes and skin irritation, increased fungal colonies, and higher white blood cell counts and hemolytic complement (A letter to Kenneth Olden of NIEHS from Drs. Jordan A. Fink, Professor of Medicine, Chief Allergy Immuno Therapy Division, Medical College of Wisconsin,November 3, 1992)
HEALTH EFFECTS ASSOCIATED WITH WASTEWATER TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL: N.E. KOWAL, H.R. PAHREN. U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY. Published in the WEF's Journal Water Pollution Control Federation (1981) vol 53 (6): pp.776-786 Lucas reviewed the nonmicrobiologic contaminates of wastewater aersols, noting that toxic gases and myriad chemicals, both organic and inorganic, may pose a significant hazard to wastewater treatment workers and potentially to the general public in surrounding areas. www.deadlydeceit.com/Health_effects.html
HEALTH effects associated with wastewater treatment,disposal, and reuse. Published in WEF's JournalWater Pollution Federation (1987) vol 59(6): pp 436-440 www.deadlydeceit.com/Dangerous_career.html
.HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ORGANIC FRACTION OF MUNICIPAL SEWAGE SLUDGES Organic compounds in sludges, with emphasis on, health risks associated with land application of municipal sudges, have been reviewed by Kover (260), Dacre (103-104), Parin et al. (349), and briefly by Connery(96).Surveys of toxic organics in sludge www.deadlydeceit.com/AcuteToxicity.html
"Respiratory Hazards of Organic Dust Exposure: Table 1" Journal of Respiratory Disease; Vol. 15, No. 6; pg. 553; June 1994 Table 1 - Respiratory hazards of organic dust exposure Exposures Vegetable: Grains, hay, pollen, cotton, wood Animal: Dander, hair, feathers, skin, feces [sludge]. Fungal and bacterial antigens and toxins Insect and mite antigens. Respiratory effects Mucous membrane irritation, bronchitis, asthma, nonasthmatic chronic airflow obstruction,organic dust toxic syndrome, hypersensitivity pneumonitis www.deadlydeceit.com/OrganicDust.html
When deadly cyanobacteria appears on sludged farmland, scientists call it Bluegreen algae
Cyanobacterial toxins: occurrence, modes of action, health effects and exposure routes. Codd GA, Ward CJ, Bell SG. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Dundee, UK.
Cyanobacterial toxins are produced by terrestrial- fresh-, brackish- and sea-water cyanobacteria of cosmopolitan occurrence. These toxins present acute and chronic hazards to human and animal health and are responsible for isolated, sporadic animal fatalities (mammals, fish, birds) each year. Human health problems are associated with the ingestion of, and contact with cyanobacterial blooms and their toxins. Modes of action of cyanobacterial neurotoxins, hepatotoxins and skin irritants are considered. Recent indications of the accumulation of cyanobacterial toxins in fish, their effect on crop plants and their association with the deaths of human dialysis patients are discussed. These findings and events indicate an incomplete understanding of the exposure routes of these natural toxins and the need for greater awareness of their occurrence and properties among users of waterbodies which are prone to cyanobacterial bloom development. Arch Toxicol Suppl. 1997;19:399-410. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi? cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9079227&dopt=Citation