Safety of human-waste sludge from Alcosan treatment facility disputed
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (PA)By Aaron Aupperlee, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Monday June 29, 2015 2:12 AM
The
The authority pays to have about 25 percent of the 120,000 tons of human waste collected at its
Critics, however, contend the fertilizer is loaded with toxic chemicals, pathogens and bacteria that leach into streams or are inhaled by neighbors.
"If you put a pile of cow manure here for six weeks and a pile of this here for six weeks, you wouldn't know the difference," Young, 65, of
"All of the neighbors around here know we're stewards of the land. I want to leave it better than I found it."
Alcosan signed an 18-month contract with
"They felt like they were prisoners in their own homes," said
Attorneys argued before the state
"Land-application of biosolids benefits the environment, the public and ratepayers," Alcosan wrote in a brief filed in December in support of Synagro and the use of sludge.
In addition to the lawsuit, Alcosan officials said they were aware of
"Synagro was completely cleared of any wrongdoing by the
Alcosan incinerates about 45 percent of the waste it handles, making steam to heat its plant, said
Synagro hauls some of the sludge to landfills and bills Alcosan
"We have this material coming in 24 hours a day, and we have to find a way to do something with it," Jackson said. "If we could give it away, that would be great. To make a couple of bucks off it, that may be asking a bit much."
The authority puts the contract out to bid every few years. It switches companies based on the lowest price, Clark said. The authority worked with Synagro when it started producing Alcosoil in the early 1990s.
Alcosan adds limestone crushed to a powder to the human waste to comply with state regulations regarding bacteria and pathogens, and to make it less attractive to flies and rodents, said
The authority tests its sludge twice a month -- the state requires testing at least once a month -- for compliance with state limits on the amount of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, arsenic, cadmium, lead, copper, zinc, mercury and other metals. Levels of most metals found in Alcosoil are above what is found in typical soil but significantly below regulatory limits, Martire said.
Sludge contains dangerous levels of industrial waste, pathogens, bacteria and viruses that can make people sick, Hecker said. The sludge in
Young, the
Dutton, 64, of
"They were wondering what kind of ramifications there were from this sludge," said
Young, who declined to address whether he pays for the sludge, said his farm has come a long way in the 20 years since he started spreading the sludge as fertilizer. The land was strip-mined in the 1960s and '70s. Only one type of grass grew on it -- a type cattle don't like to eat -- after the mining.
About seven different grasses grow now. Fields that once yielded 205 round bales of hay produce 625.
"My dream was to wake up one morning and see nothing but green grass and black cattle," Young said.
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