This I Believe in the benefits, sustainability, and importance of raising awareness of biosolids (aka treated sewage sludge), the unsung hero.
People that work with biosolids are often so focused on the technical aspects of their day to day jobs, they don’t often make their great work and knowledge easily accessible to the public.
Now with the advent of social media, discussions are occurring in new places. Many biosolids people just got internet sites and factsheets. We aren’t equipped to find and discuss our passion with the folks that are interested or have questions. It’s like having a booth at the County fair, but there’s no one there to talk to people.
I’ve stood by silently for years, my voice handicapped by the communication structures surrounding me. I’ve watched as biosolids are vocally beaten down by inaccurate information and fear … again and again. Biosolids are made out to be a horrible monster polluting the world instead of the environmental hero that I believe they are.
But now I'm putting myself out here. And I’m praying my skin is thick enough! In today’s age of the internet, many want to remain anonymous and protect their privacy. But it doesn’t mean they are any less passionate about biosolids than I. I want you to know the truth about biosolids and about the men and woment working to protect your (public) health and our environment everday.
If you don’t know me, how can you trust me and my beliefs? I'm a wife - my husband is the green thumb in our family. He built a square foot garden in our condos’ tiny back yard (often featured in this blog). And he’s started raising worms in our garage a couple of years back. Besides being a sustainable way to manage kitchen scraps, it is great entertainment for our two boys and visitors. Since late 2002, I have worked with various angles of biosolids compliance, inspections, management practices, management systems, public participation, and communications - an integral part in all those aspects. Now it’s beyond work; I realize this is a passion that I need to expess.
I can’t be alone. Day in and day out, decade after decade, there are tens of thousands of operators, engineers, farmers, researchers, regulators, consultants, and support staff seeing the benefits of biosolids. Holding one another accountable to strict, protective standards. Continuously researching and improving our knowledge, understanding, and moving the bar higher and higher.
There are 16,0000 wastewater treatment plants. Most are small and reflective of our local communities. These plants have saved more lives than modern medicine. Sewage treatment keeps our nation’s population strong and healthy. Our clean water allows us to leave long, productive lives. People in developing countries struggle daily to survive; if only they had the clean water and sanitation that we have. Yet most American rarely consider how blessed we are in this regard, and how it’s the simplest things that make the biggest difference.
From these simple facts and understanding, my passion is born and I can’t sit idly by any more. I may be a small voice in the internet’s vast forest of information, but at least I’m trying. Like the littlest Who in Whoville, maybe someone other than Horton will hear me.
Do you like yourself? Do you trust yourself? Biosolids (aka treated sewage sludge) comes from you and me. Everything we eat and do come through to this end product (yes, we there are lots of puns in biosolids).
· Yes, your first impression is most likely, “Yuck!” That’s human nature. We don’t eat our poop because it makes us sick. Lack of sanitation is unhealthy. Yet, as we learn more about it, we can begin to see another side of the coin. If we treat the poop. If we kill off the pathogens from our intestines that will ironically make us sick if we re-ingest them. If we can recycle this organic matter. If it is safe. If only we could do all these things, we would make a sustainable, renewable, local recycling loop! We could return carbon, nutrients, and other critical minerals to the soil. Happy soil, happy plants. Just like our ancestors before us.
· Yes, we have metals. Less metals than a daily multi-vitamin. Aka macro and micro nutrients. Great for plants. And if you use in your garden, you’ll probably finally get your money’s worth out of your vitamin (i.e., you’ll be eating more nutritious food than grown in conventional petrochemical, synthetic fertilizers).
· Yes, we have industrial discharges. Thanks to aggressive regulations of the industries that discharge to our plants since the Clean Water Act was enacted, the influent metals can meet drinking water standards (at least in Orange County). That’s an exponential drop - more than 90% decrease – since the levels we saw in the 1970’s. What does that mean to biosolids applied to the land. It could take 1,800 years to build up enough lead in the soil for it to potentially cause a problem.
· Yes, we have pharmaceuticals. You take the drugs (15% of the populations is responsible for 90% of the drug consumption). And we protect the water (aquatic species are more sensitive receptors than soil species). Wastewater treatment processes (like activated sludge and digestion) have been shown to break-down some of these compounds. The dilute doses of pharmaceuticals are present in part per million and part per billion range, which is still safe to recycle (e.g., you’d need to consume 48,000 gallons of biosolids to get one dose of Viagra). No adverse impacts have been found in plants and animals surrounding biosolids-amend soils; unlike the aquatic species where effects of birth controls pills and other constituents have been documented. So, please dispose of medications at your local pharmacy if they have a “take back program,” a local household hazardous waste round-up, or wrapped in the trash.
· Yes, we may have pathogens. The EPA’s biosolids regulations performed the most thorough risk assessment of many pathways and constituents when developing the rules for using biosolids on farms. These biosolids are treated, but not completely pathogen free. The EPA periodically reviews its regulations to consider new information and research. Since EPA’s original “503 rule” was published in 1993, it has been protective of public health. A new model is now available where a user can input various assumptions (e.g., wind speed, rain, depth to groundwater) and calculate risk of infection from biosolids pathogens via the various pathways (e.g., inhalation, ingestion). One example output from the model: A child playing in a field applied with biosolids for 8 hours would have a 1 in 100,000 risk of contracting rotovirus. I did a lot of risk research when I was pregnant, overdue, having a C-section, then a VBAC, a homebirth, and debating vaccines. I wish some of the decisions I had to make were based on that order of magnitude.
The bottomline is that Yes, there is That in biosolids. Everything you flush down the sink and toilet in your home. Yes, that’s gross. But Yes, that’s the definition of sustainability. And if you trust what comes from you, what is the natural process, what tens of thousands of Americans spend careers protecting public health and the environment, then maybe you can also see biosolids in a better light than your first impression.
Thank you for interest! I hope you’ll have your voice heard by touring your local treatment plant, liking the Biosolids Buzz Facebook page, and/or signing the petition that supports biosolids recycling.
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