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Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Biosolids

To achieve a sustainable food supply and protect our food supply, our farmers must succeed in protecting their farm land, biodiversity, topsoil, water supply and livestock health. Good local land is a gift, but the soil can only be sustained by the farmers who know how to sustain and enrich it.

One topic that has come up regarding our farmland is the use of biosolids. Biosolids are made from the solid waste that remains in human sewage also called the sludge. Our farmland soil is a unique and valuable resource that is maintained by our local farmers. So the question is – Does it make sense to build a multi-million dollar sewage treatment plant, which will remove pollutants from the sewage only to have the pollutant by-products (sludge) spread on the land?

Protecting our farmland as a valuable and viable resource requires avoiding potential harm and degradation of the land. If the land were to become contaminated with possible pollutants from the biosolids, the damage could persist for decades.

Think of the possible contaminants in sewer sludge. Think of everyday hospital waste for example. There would be a cocktail of feces, urine, cleaners, blood, personal care products, drugs, heavy metals and other more industrial wastes. Now I understand that the left over sludge is treated before being turned into a biosolid which is then applied to the land to act as a fertilizer. But is that enough??

Proponents of the use of biosolids say yes. They insist that the biosolids are tested and meet all present regulations surrounding the treatment of wastewater products. They feel that the spread of this product is completely safe on agriculture land.

In a message written by Fred Blois of the Nova Scotia Environmental Network and the NDP Environmental Committee, It is important to consider that current waste water treatment plant technology was not designed to remove many of the nutrients, estrogenic compounds, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products present in waste water. Therefore, current technologies may be creating risks of unknown magnitude for public health.

There is a tremendous amount of new knowledge about what substances exist in biosolids and how they behave which has come to light in recent years. Contrary to claims made by proponents of biosolids, soil scientists specializing in sewage sludges have determined that contaminants can leech into groundwater sources or enter other water courses via field run-off.

The Nova Scotia Environmental Network is asking Nova Scotians to collect signatures on a petition to the provincial government to declare an immediate moratorium on the use of sewage sludge (biosolids) on Nova Scotia lands and to adopt with minimum delay safe options for sewage sludge disposal or destruction. You can find more information at their website: www.nsen.ca.

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