Utilization Of Sewage Sludge On Land Rates Of Application And Long Term Effects Of Metals

Proceedings of a Seminar held at Uppsala, Sweden, June 7-9, 1983

Anaerobic digestion has no effect on the quantity of the waste treated, but it affects its quality and its usefulness as fertilizer. This conference proceedings collection of twenty papers delves into the issue.

"Briefly, the position papers discuss institutional constraints, hydrologic and nutrient management, pathogens, metals, organics, engineering and economics, and an overview of public health effects" Pref.

Biogeochemistry of Trace Metals is a compendium of the most recent information available on the effects of trace metals in soil quality and its potential threat on the transfer of these contaminants to consumers. Most of the chapters in the book were presented as papers during the First International Conference on the Biogeochemistry of Trace Elements (formerly Metals in Soils, Plants, Waters, and Animals) held in Orlando, Florida in May, 1990. Topics discussed include background levels of metals in soils and/or plants (covering western Europe; temperate, humid Europe; and the People's Republic of China); metal cycling and transfer in the food chain in agroecosystems; uptake and accumulation of metals by bacteria, fungi, and invertebrates; mechanistic aspects of metals; the microbial aspects of soil selenium losses; and manganese sorption on soil constituents.

The European Union initially demonstrated its interest in waste in the late 70s with the progamme on Waste Recycling Research and Development. At that time composting was only present as a coordination activity and it was only later that specific research programmes in the area were within Europe which was largely instrumental in setting up a series of European conferences, seminars and work shops. Some of these have resulted in publications which have made significant contributions to developments in the understanding of composting and the use of composts. In particular the outputs from meetings in Oxford ( 1984), Udine (1986), Neresheim ( 1988) and Angers ( 1991) are worthy of note. Composting has seen significant changes since the 70s when the major thrust in Europe was using mixed municipal solid waste as a feed material. Many com posting plants which were built to use this material were closed due to the poor quality of the compost which made it very difficult to market. As a result the main areas of interest, as far as the municipa1ities are concemed, are now with biowaste and source-separated organics. This interest is apparent from the many new plants which are being constructed across Europe, and the ready market which exists for the products. In parallel with the renewed interest of the municipalities other areas, such as agriculture and the wastewater treatment industries, are also developing their own schemes.

Proceedings of a Round-Table Seminar organized by the Commission of the European Communities, Directorate-General for Science for Research and Development Programme, Liebefeld, Switzerland, 8-10 May 1985.

Soil is an irreplaceable resource that sustains life on the planet, challenged by food and energy demands of an increasing population. Therefore, soil contamination constitutes a critical issue to be addressed if we are to secure the life quality of present and future generations. Integrated efforts from researchers and policy makers are required to develop sound risk assessment procedures, remediation strategies and sustainable soil management policies. Environmental Risk Assessment of Soil Contamination provides a wide depiction of current research in soil contamination and risk assessment, encompassing reviews and case studies on soil pollution by heavy metals and organic pollutants. The book introduces several innovative approaches for soil remediation and risk assessment, including advances in phytoremediation and implementation of metabolomics in soil sciences.

The treatment and disposal of sewage sludge is an expensive and environmentally sensitive problem that is growing worldwide. Sludge production is increasing whilst previously accepted methods for disposal are coming under pressure or even being phased out altogether so there is now an urgency to find cost-effective and innovative solutions that appease environmental and public pressures. The purpose of the conference recorded in these proceedings was to review the range of alternative disposal/recycling options for sewage sludge. The alternative uses considered are in land reclamation, forestry, compost and soil production, landfill, incineration, and energy and resource recovery. The papers presented include recent research findings and technological developments, as well as operational implementation of schemes, showing that beneficial re-use of sludge can be entirely compatible with a cost-effective and environmentally sensitive approach to sludge disposal.