A3Mjncpstef Farming, Saturday, March 14, 1998
More Proactive
Approach Needed
(Continued from Page A 36)
anything mutagenic being spread
on fields. But mutagens, said Fur
janic, arc present everywhere—in
garden vegetables, coffee, and
beer. In fact, nine mutagens have
been identified in fried hamburger.
“Coffee, hamburger have muta
gens in them,” he said. “It’s just a
matter of dose.” Baker noted that
mutagens “can interact with DNA
any from bacterium to
human DNA.” she said. The ques
tion remains: how to they go about
at what doses to produce cancer in
humans?
In the responses, Don Robinson,
Lancaster County Conservation
District manager, asked if the
results can be transferred to the
field under climatic conditions,
and how the high pH of 12 will
affect the nutrient capability of the
soil.
How would the high pH impact
soil if the grower is managing nit
rogen and other nutrients to pro
duce ISO bushels per acre of com?
The high pH of the sludge will
increase soil pH. That’s why “you
can’t have heavy application
rates.” noted one application
expert But effects on soil biologi
cal activity need to be assessed in
the field.
As a result. Baker noted that the
next stage of research should
involve testing the lime-treated
sludge on a variety of soil and rain
fall situations. A more “proactive”
approach an provide die way to
address public concerns, simply by
the wastewater plants performing
reliable bioassays on the material
before applying it to farm fields
to assure the safety of the product
Baker noted that, whether it is
dead leaves going on the soil or
human refuse, there will be “carci
nogens” present
Robinson said that the “proac
tive approach” is the right thing to
do. However, the questions of
using that much lime and placing it
on the fields could pose concerns
to the farmer.
Dee Walter, HACC adjunct
faculty, biology, also was pleased
with the proactive approach and
the cooperation of industry and
landowners to getting rid of sludge
“in a safe and effective manner.”
But more research into the use of
biological assays is necessary. The
willingness of the wastewater
industry and researchers to address
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the public safety concern “is a step
in the right direction,” she said
Jay R. Snyder, Borough of
Ephrata environmental resource
manager, also applauded the
proactive stance. “I am the one
challenged with taking it out to the
field,” he said “The last thing I
want to do is pollute the land of
friends and neighbors.”
But the public should also con
cern themselves with looking at
materials that make “our own body
healthier to fight off mutations,”
he said including a healthy diet
that contains antimutagenic and
anticarcinogen materials, such as
green, leafy vegetables. “We live
in a harsh environment,” said
Snyder.
C. D. Vu, engineer with the Pen
nsylvania Department of Environ
mental Protection (DEP), noted
there were positive implications of
the research done. But more work
is needed to determine the differ
ences of what happens in laborato
ries compared to the field
The results of die tests will be
published in Water Environment
Federation.
The next step, noted Baker of
Penn Stale, is to work with cooper
ating municipalities and DEP to set
up in-field testing of how land
applied sludge effects overall soil
health and more work into curbing
mutagenicity of biosolids. It’s
where the “research has to go.” she
said
is now
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