Clean Water Advocacy - Newsroom - AMSA in the News
PR Newswire
Copyright (c) 2003, PR Newswire
Wednesday, January 15, 2003
National Experts Respond to Biosolids Questions, Critics at Tampa D.E.P.
Hearing - Meeting Addresses ...
National Experts Respond to Biosolids Questions, Critics at Tampa D.E.P.
Hearing - Meeting Addresses the Safety, Science, Regulatory Protections
And Local Concerns.
PRNewswire-FirstCall TAMPA, Fla. Jan. 15
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. at 3804 Coconut Palm Drive,
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.
Founded in 1928, the Water Environment Federation (WEF) is a
not-for-profit technical and educational organization with members from
varied disciplines who work toward the WEF vision of preservation and
enhancement of the global water environment. The WEF network includes
water quality professionals from 79 Member Associations in 32 countries.
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:
http://www.biosolids.com/; http://www.wef.org/;
and http://www.epa.gov/.