Survival of the Feces...

Wednesday, August 6, 2003, p. B1



Survival of the feces or disaster in the making?



Critics question safety of using region's sewage sludge on fields



BRENT DAVIS RECORD STAFF
WATERLOO REGION -

Ontario - Canada

Farmers love it. Environmentalists hate it. Some municipalities have tried to ban it.
Supporters say it's a safe, effective way of dealing with the byproducts of daily life. Its opponents believe it's
another Walkerton-like tragedy waiting to happen. Like it or not, tens of thousands of tonnes of treated human
and industrial waste -- the products of municipal sewage treatment plants -- are being spread on Ontario farm
fields every year. Waterloo Region alone produces between 200,000 and 250,000 cubic metres of liquid
sewage sludge annually, and almost all of it is trucked to dozens of agricultural properties in and around the
region. Cambridge resident Kevin Hennessy sees those trucks almost daily on his way to work. From the
outside, you'd never guess what's in the blue and white tankers belonging to Terratec Environmental, the
Hamilton-based company that holds a $1.3 million contract to haul away the region's sewage sludge. But
Hennessy knows. His father-in-law, Bruce Fulcher, a councillor in East Garafraxa Township, west of Orangeville,
helped lead the charge to keep Terratec's trucks off their roads, and the stinky sludge off their fields. And
Hennessy thinks it's about time Waterloo Region did the same. "I think the people who are aware of this, or sit
and take the time to think about this, would be disgusted," Hennessy said. "We're not meant to fertilize our fruits
and vegetables and our land with our own feces." That's where the misconceptions begin, say proponents of the
decades-old practice. "It is not raw sewage, it's not even close to that," said David Andrews, the region's
manager of wastewater operations. "But it's easy to say that because it comes out of the same facility."
Extensive treatment breaks the sewage down into its base materials, producing what the industry prefers to call
biosolids. The finished product is most often spread or injected into fields -- to mitigate odour -- in a watery mix.
Critics charge that "biosolids" is just a sanitized name for a nasty witches' brew of disease-causing pathogens,
metals, pharmaceuticals and organic contaminants like flame retardant.



"Everybody thinks that it's just human
waste that's being put on the land," said Paul Chantree, a member of the Grand River Conservation Authority
and an outspoken opponent of the practice. "But it's hospital waste, industrial waste, chemicals, heavy metals,
infectious diseases. It's all in this pot." The provincial Environment Ministry notes that the presence of
pathogens and heavy metals is greatly reduced during treatment, and that by definition, biomedical waste from
hospitals is classified as hazardous and cannot be flushed down municipal sewers. Municipalities also place
restrictions on industrial waste, said ministry spokesman John Steele. Those bylaws vary from place to place.



But even its backers admit the practice has risks. "If there were no hazards at all associated with it, we wouldn't
have guidelines," said Beverley Hale, a professor of land resource science at the University of Guelph. "But
there is no solid evidence . . . in Ontario that directly links a negative impact to the environment or human
health." SPREADING COMMON It's estimated that 80 per cent of Ontario municipalities spread sewage sludge
on land as a means of disposal. Sludge that doesn't end up on fields is either incinerated or sent to a landfill.
Environment ministry guidelines establish criteria such as application rates, crop suitability and separation
distances from waterways, wells and residences. Each spreading location must also have its own site-specific
certificate of approval from the ministry. Officials acknowledge, though, that inspections are not conducted on a
regular basis and more often come in response to neighbours' complaints about the odours coming from the
sites. Terratec has been fined twice this year -- $5,000 for creating a surface runoff problem on a Beaverdale
Road field in Cambridge, and $12,000 for odour emissions from a Southgate Township field.



Generally,
biosolids are applied for cash crops such as feed corn, wheat, soybeans and hay. Terratec, which deals with
about 70 per cent of Ontario's sewage sludge, maintains it does not spread the material on fruits or vegetables
meant for direct human consumption. Once a field receives the equivalent of eight dry tonnes per hectare,
biosolids cannot be spread there again for five years. Biosolids will be included under Ontario's new Nutrient
Management Act, but many regulations, including those affecting smaller farms, won't apply until at least 2008.
Waterloo Region's biosolids end up at 60 local sites and at other farms in places such as Welland and Oxford,
Brant and Perth counties. Biosolids are a good source of nutrients and contain organic matter that can improve
soil structure and reduce erosion.



Even more important to farmers? The stuff is free. Companies like Terratec
find a receptive home for the sludge, and farmers don't have to invest in commercial fertilizers. "They're using it
on crops with relatively low margins," Hale said. Banning the practice would "cut out a valuable resource for the
farmer."



But do the benefits outweigh the risks? In 2000, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
warned that sewage sludge can pose a potential health risk from bacteria and viruses like E. coli, salmonella
and hepatitis B. The center advised workers to wear protective clothing. The following year, the Canadian
Infectious Disease Society said studies should be undertaken to ensure current spreading techniques are safe
for humans. And a Cornell University study concluded that groundwater leaching of sludge-borne contaminants
is greater than generally believed. "There is evidence out there it has proved harmful," Chantree said. The
vice-president of the company that owns Terratec downplays the concerns. "You will receive the anecdotal
evidence from fear mongers," said Phil Sidhwa of American Water Services Canada.



TWO DEATHS IN U.S.
Anecdotal evidence surrounds the 1994 death of an 11-year-old Pennsylvania boy, who rode his bike along a
sludge-covered hillside and fell ill the next day. Within a week, he was dead. Anecdotal evidence surrounds the
1995 death of a New Hampshire man who lived downwind of a sludge site. His mother believes he inhaled toxic
fumes. These are the kinds of stories that have spurred several Ontario municipalities into taking action. Later
this month, Terratec will challenge a Melanchton Township bylaw that all but bans the company's activities there.
The bylaw restricts sludge spreading to an 80-hectare parcel considered at low risk for groundwater
contamination. A groundwater survey commissioned by the municipality northwest of Orangeville declared that
all remaining lands are at greater risk and should not receive biosolids. In nearby East Garafraxa, councillors
determined they couldn't ban the provincially regulated practice, but they could make life difficult for Terratec.
Accessibility and weight restrictions were imposed on area roads. The tankers bearing Toronto sludge haven't
been seen there in the two years since the rules were established.]



"The bottom line is that the Ministry of the
Environment has got to listen to the concerns of rural municipalities," said Fulcher, the councillor. "It wasn't
going to be in our backyard." While these municipal decisions may be well-intentioned, they're uninformed, Hale
argues. "They're basing these decisions on emotion, and not on the facts," she said. "The public outcry relative
to the very vigilant approach to treating biosolids and applying them is out of whack." Here in Waterloo Region,
the future looks bright for haulers like Terratec.



REGION PREFERS SPREADING The finishing touches are
being put on a 20-year biosolids master plan that says land application is still the preferred method of dealing
with our sludge, even in light of a projected 40 per cent increase in volume. The plan is expected to be
presented to regional council in September. Four open houses attracted little public interest. Some of Waterloo
Region's sludge is now being dewatered and hauled to a London landfill in an effort to increase capacity at the
Kitchener storage lagoons. Officials say a deep winter frost and spring rains hampered this season's spreading
schedule. The trips to London will likely continue for another couple of weeks, Andrews estimated. Looking
ahead, though, "there is adequate land available within an economically reasonable hauling distance," said Karl
Cober of the region's water services division. Techniques to reduce volume and improve treatment to make
biosolids safer are being considered, he added. But that's not good enough, say critics like Chantree. The
region should look at other ways of dealing with sewage treatment residue, he believes. "I'm sure this practice
will have to change. People will not put up with this."