tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19837713.post113475785426430302..comments2024-01-18T02:42:41.480-08:00Comments on transect points: Biosolids, Politics and CharacterPhil Smallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00841426181734080101noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19837713.post-1146866374758094882006-05-05T14:59:00.000-07:002006-05-05T14:59:00.000-07:00First of all, Septic tank solids are NOT raw sewag...First of all, Septic tank solids are NOT raw sewage! A septic tank is effectively a small, self contained version of a digester. These solids are not as far decomposed as a municipal treatment plants product, but they are not raw. Secondly, Heavy Metals are in fact a concern with Biosolids land application. Any reputable handling firm will take deep soil samples before, during and after application. There is a great deal of soil science that goes into determining the agronomic rate of application. Land application is a benefit for both the farmer, and for the municipality. We get what we eat from the land; we should return what is left.The Limon Leaderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09424451406424080152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19837713.post-1135283507421807672005-12-22T12:31:00.000-08:002005-12-22T12:31:00.000-08:00I've also heard those fears. Many stem from legit...I've also heard those fears. Many stem from legitimate concerns in the days before source control activism by the treatment plants. Source control involves requiring alternative manufacturing processes and redesigning the waste collection process to segregate wastes at the source. Before the source control campaigns of the 1970's, for example, dentists were washing mercury laden amalgam down the sink and printing firms were using high metal content (manganese and cobalt, if I recall correctly) inks and discharging the cleanup fluids.<BR/><BR/>Chrome finishing, lead from solder and fluxes, the list of processes where source control is necessary to achieve low-metal biosolids is long. <BR/><BR/>Use of medical radionuclides is highly regulated and release to a drain, or any similarly uncontrolled fate, is prohibited.<BR/><BR/>With few exceptions, biosolids' metals content now is low enough that it requires many years of land application, decades in some cases, for accumulation to be detected above the noisy data of soil background levels.<BR/><BR/>Source control means controlling peoples' behavior and I think this is where community heartburn over biosolids safety comes in. It is, as always, as much a question of social anthropology (who do we trust and why) as it is a question specific to the chemistry and biology of biosolids.Phil Smallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00841426181734080101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19837713.post-1135275357236420662005-12-22T10:15:00.000-08:002005-12-22T10:15:00.000-08:00One of the fears I've heard from sustainable ag ty...One of the fears I've heard from sustainable ag types regarding the use of biosolids is the possibility of heavy metals and/or radioactive components (from chemotherapy) in the product. That's well outside me area of expertise, though.<BR/><BR/>Not an issue on my farm (I'm too far from an urban center to use them, anyway), but I can see the concern in denser population areas.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com