Biosolids - Facts and Commentaries
From the Virginia Department of Health
"VDH encourages counties/municipalities to adopt an approved local ordinance related to biosolids use to assure local monitoring and protection of county lands, as well as assure the safety and welfare of all those who live, work, and play in the county. Each locality approved to use biosolids may hire a local monitor for the program. VDH and the local monitor will closely monitor the use of biosolids on county lands as a soil amendment and enforce regulatory requirements. Each potential application site will have site specific requirements including the testing of soils and biosolids before land-application, nutrient management plans, disclosure to the public and land owner, detailed monitoring and reporting, and county-led inspections. While no evidence has been found of an urgent public health risk from exposure to land-applied biosolids, studies have found that the science used to determine federal standards needs to be updated as chemicals, treatments, and technologies have changed. Click here to learn more about Virginia’s permitting process and the federal standards for biosolids land application."
Links to information on Biosolids/Sludge
- Virginia Department of Health on Biosolids and Sludge
- Nelson Citizens Against Toxic Sludge
- Virginia Regulatory Town Hall Public Comment Forum sponsored by the Va. Department of Health State Board of Health on Biosolids Use Regulations (12 VAC 5-585)
- Class A and Class B biosolids - Definitions and Comparison
- Wikipedia on Biosolids and Sludge
- Virginia Department of Environmental Quality on Biosolids and Sludge.
- The National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Biosolids and Sludge.
- The Cornell Waste Management Institute on Biosolids
- Environmental Protection Agency on Biosolids and Sludge.
- Final Summary on Biosolids Applied to Land: Advancing Standards and Practices by the Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology of The National Academies.
- Presentation on Biosolids/Sludge at Nelson Memorial Library Jan 04, 2007 by Gary Scott and Al Guidry, Ph.D.
- Altavista Journal article, Dec. 31, 2006
- Interactions of pathogens and irritant chemicals in land-applied sewage sludges (biosolids)
- Rural Nelson Meeting Report October 6, 2004, 7:30 PM - on Regulation and Use of Biosolids
- Rural Nelson Meeting Report Oct. 19, 2006, 7:30 PM - on Water, Sewer, Biosolids, Recycling and Solid Waste Disposal