Tag: public health

Epa to Re-Examine Impact of Sewage Sludge Fertilizer

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it’s ready to take a new look at the science and risks involved in using treated human waste – sewage sludge – as fertilizer on farmland. That’s seen as good news for people who live near farms using sewage sludge. Some of them say the sludge makes them sick. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Amy Tardif reports:

Transcript

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it’s ready to take a new look at the science and
risks involved in using treated human waste – sewage sludge – as fertilizer on farmland. That’s
seen as good news for people who live near farms using sewage sludge. Some of them say the
sludge makes them sick. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Amy Tardif reports:


About three million dry tons of treated sewage – called sludge – is used to fertilize sod, pasture
land and even food crops every year in the United States. As cities sprawl and people move into
rural areas they discover the practice. And many don’t like it.


“We were like what is that smell? This is sick. It makes you want to vomit. Your eyes start
burning and you want to get away from it as quick as you can.”


Molly Bowen is one of a group of homeowners suing the haulers who dump and landowners who
use sewage sludge near their neighborhood. People around the country have blamed the sludge
for causing illnesses and even deaths. They say their wells are contaminated with sludge. They
say they breathe sludge dust blowing from recently treated fields. Bowen and her neighbors
blame the sludge for a lot of health problems.


“Laryngitis, stomach, upper respiratory, not being able to breath well.”


For a while these people thought no one was listening. But cases are coming in from all over and
the Environmental Protection Agency is starting to pay attention. In 2002, the EPA asked the
National Academy of Sciences to study the public health aspects of sludge. Thomas Burke is a
professor and epidemiologist with Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.
He chaired the study.


“This is poop we’re talking about here. It has the potential to cause serious illness if they’re not treated
appropriately and if there is not appropriate protection of the population.”


Burke and others studied to see if the EPA methods used to determine the limits for chemicals,
viruses and bacteria in sewage sludge were strong enough. Burke says the methods are not strong
enough to use the sludge safely.


“We need to understand better the potential health effects. We need a new national survey to
understand the microbes and the potential pathogens that might be present. And also we need to
better characterize the chemicals that might be present in sludge. The current rules are based upon
work that was done back in the ’80’s.”


The EPA is looking at those concerns. It says it will try to determine if there are contaminants in
the sludge that could cause health problems.


Prior to the National Academies of Sciences report, government regulators, including the EPA,
sewer plant managers, and sludge haulers, insisted sludge was safe when applied according to
the rules.


Houston-based Synagro manages sludge biosolids for municipalities in 35 states. Vice President
for government relations, Bob O’dette says there’s been plenty of studies already.


“If I thought for a moment that this caused anybody any health problems, I wouldn’t be in the
industry. I formed my opinion on biosolids before I came into the private sector.”


Problems have been pointed out. But the Federal Office of Inspector General reported in 2002
that the EPA offers virtually no federal oversight over sludge disposal and the agency is not
protecting the public. Those in the agency that tried to point out the problems were pressured or
fired.


Dr. David Lewis says he warned his bosses that using sludge might cause health problems. He
worked as a research microbiologist at the EPA’s national exposure research laboratory in
Georgia. He was fired last May. He alleges in whistleblower lawsuits that the EPA – which not
only regulates, but also promotes recycling sludge biosolids as fertilizer – wanted his sludge
research stopped.


“I can assure you that many of the issues raised by private citizens are issues that are raised and
that many scientists at EPA share those concerns and have from the beginning because of the
concerns over pathogens, metals and other contaminants in sludge and that concerns the risk that
might be present for public health and the environment.”


Lewis says although many viruses and bacteria die in the field, especially when exposed to
sunlight, the biggest risk of infection comes from what grows in the sludge after it’s put down.
Bacterial pathogens grow when the organic matter decomposes. He says it’s just like meat that’s
cooked and then left out on the counter. Some nasty stuff can start growing.


But now the EPA indicates it is ready to make changes. It plans to spend nearly six-million
dollars over the next three years following some of the advice of the National Academy of
Science study. Geff Grubbs is the EPA’s director of science and technology.


“We’re looking at what are the possible impacts and risks to people who live near and would
otherwise be exposed to pollutants that are emitted into the air from biosolids as they’re applied
to land. We’ll be conducting an analysis of samples of biosolids from various points across the
country to help determine the concentrations of additional pollutants that could impact health.”


The EPA says it will first look at health studies of people who claim to have become sick from
exposure to sludge. And it hopes to work with the Centers for Disease Control and state health
departments to arrange for them to track and investigate alleged cases of sludge sickness.


Environmentalists and others say they hope this is a more science-based look at the issue, but
they remain skeptical.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Amy Tardif.

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Great Lakes States Top Mercury Contamination List

Four Great Lakes states have some of the most severe cases of mercury contamination in the country. That’s according to a recent report by the group Environmental Defense. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Erin Toner has more:

Transcript

Four Great Lakes states have some of the most severe cases of mercury contamination in the
country. That’s according to a recent report by the group “Environmental Defense.” The Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Erin Toner has more:


Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Pennsylvania made the group’s top 10 list of places with the worst
mercury pollution. Mercury can cause brain damage in babies whose mothers eat contaminated
fish. The report says mercury in the ground and water often comes from local sources, such as
power plants.


The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is working on new mercury rules for power plants.
But Michael Shore, of Environmental Defense, says the rules aren’t strong enough.


Other sectors have been required to reduce their mercury pollution by 90 percent. These
standards would only reduce mercury pollution by 70 percent. Also, these standards wouldn’t be
in place until 2018.


The EPA’s policy could use a market-based approach. That allows companies to buy pollution
credits from others that have emission controls in place. Environmentalists say instead, the EPA
should force all power companies to pollute less.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Erin Toner.

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Fish Diet Down in Diporeia Die-Off

  • This tiny crustacean is a favorite food item for Great Lakes fish. Scientists are trying to figure out why it's disappearing. (Photo courtesy of the Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab)

One of the basic building blocks of the Great Lakes food chain is disappearing. The bottom of the lakes used to be teeming with tiny crustaceans known as Diporeia. But their numbers are declining, and in wide stretches they’re just simply gone. Commercial fishers are beginning to see the effect on fish. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham has an update:

Transcript

One of the basic building blocks of the Great Lakes food chain is disappearing. The bottom of the lakes used to be teeming with tiny crustaceans known as Diporeia. But their numbers are declining, and in wide stretches they’re just simply gone. Commercial fishers are beginning to see the effect on fish. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham has an update:


Diporeia is a quarter-inch long shrimp-like creature that
lives in the sediment at the bottom of most of the Great
Lakes. Just about every fish at some time in its life
relies on diporeia for food. Those that don’t, eat the
fish that eat diporeia. Researchers used to find 10,000
of these animals in a square yard of sediment. Today the researchers are disturbed because they’re
taking up samples and finding only hundreds in a square yard and
sometimes finding none, not one.


But this isn’t simply scientific curiosity for
biologists. It has economic impact. Mark Gaden is with the
Great Lakes Fisheries Commission. He says this is
beginning to affect commercially harvested fish.


“There’s a very deep concern about the impact of
the loss of diporeia on the white fish diet.”


Gaden says the commercial fishers starting noticing that
the white fish looked different. Their body weight just
wasn’t what they were used to seeing.


Tom Spaulding is one of the partners in Gauthier &
Spaulding Fisheries in Michigan. They fish on Lake Huron.
He says white fish there aren’t getting enough to eat.


“Well, some of them definitely look skinny alright. And the other ones, they’re a longer fish, but
they just don’t have the body weight they should for a fish
that length. So, it’s got to be food-related, their
natural food, that diporeia shrimp. You see what I mean?”


And it’s not just the commercial fishers on Lake Huron.
It’s happening everywhere except Lake Superior. The Great
Lakes Fisheries Commission’s Mark Gaden says it’s got a lot
of fishers worried.


“Anytime, though, where you have something like
diporeia which is something that’s critical in the food web
and you see drastic, drastic declines in it and we’re not
quite sure why this is taking place, it’s cause for serious
concern.”


The commercial fishing industry is looking to the
researchers. The researchers have been working on this
problem for years. So, what’s causing it?


“Well, that’s what I’m struggling with. There’s
a lot of conflicting evidence.”


Tom Nalepa is a research biologist at the Great Lakes
Environmental Research Lab. He says it’s possible that the
invasive species the zebra mussel might be eating most of
the diporeia’s food.


“It lives on the bottom, but it needs that fresh
material that drops down right at the sediment surface.
And, this is exactly the same materials that zebra mussels
are filtering out. So, logically, it’s a food problem, but
the confusing thing about it is that the animals are not
showing any signs of starvation. They’re relatively
healthy, yet the population is dying off down to zero.”


The researchers continue to try to figure out exactly
what’s going on. But, if the zebra mussel is the culprit
in the die-off of the diporeia, the scientists say there’s
nothing that can be done about it. It’ll mean a huge
change in the natural balance of the Great Lakes. The
commercial fishers such as Tom Spaulding say they’re
hopeful that the white fish will find something else to eat.
They hope it’s just a matter of time. But, in the
Meanwhile, Spaulding says it’s not just white fish that are
being affected. It’s the fish that sport fishers like to
catch too.


“We’re seeing skinny lake trout out there.
We’re seeing other species too that are suffering because
the food chain, the food they’re after is low. But, it’s
not just a white fish problem in the Great Lakes right
now. And the finger seems to be pointing to the zebra
mussel, so, it’s a serious problem as far as changing the
whole ecosystem out there that we see.”


This might be only the latest economic damage caused by the
zebra mussel since it stowed away in a cargo ship in the
early 1980s. The mussel has cost industry because it clogs
intake pipes. It’s damaged the native mussel populations.
And the long-term damage to the environment of the Great
Lakes and the Mississippi River system where it’s also
spread is not yet clear.


One thing is clear – Any savings realized because of those cheap goods on that cargo ship,
can’t possibly offset the cost to the economy because of the zebra mussels that ship carried in its
ballast water.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.

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Epa to Relax Sewage Treatment Rules?

Conservation groups are criticizing a move by the Environmental Protection Agency to relax sewage discharge rules. As the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Sarah Hulett reports, there’s disagreement about what impact the change would have on water quality and public health:

Transcript

Conservation groups are criticizing a move by the Environmental Protection Agency to relax sewage
discharge rules. As the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Sarah Hulett reports, there’s disagreement
about what impact the change would have on water quality and public health:


The EPA says during heavy rains, sewage plants can’t handle the excess wastewater. So it wants
to allow plants to divert some water from the second step in the treatment process. That’s the part
when microbes break down pathogens that can harm public health.


EPA officials say the process is safe. They say the partially treated sewage would be blended with
fully treated water. And they say it would have to meet water quality standards.


But Nancy Stoner with the Natural Resources Defense Council says those standards only protect
against bacteria – not viruses or parasites. She predicts the policy would have a serious impact on
public health.


More people will get diarrhea and vomiting, they’ll get respiratory illness. They may even get very
serious illnesses, like Hepatitis A, that are carried in sewage.”


The EPA says the practice is already widespread at many treatment plants. The agency will take
public comment on the proposal until early January.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Sarah Hulett.

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Sewer Overflows to Get Green Light?

The Environmental Protection Agency wants to relax sewage discharge rules. As the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Sarah Hulett reports, there’s disagreement about what impact those changes would have on water quality:

Transcript

The Environmental Protection Agency wants to relax sewage discharge rules. As the Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Sarah Hulett reports, there’s disagreement about what impact those changes
would have on water quality:


The change would make legal a practice that’s already common at many wastewater treatment
plants. Partially-treated sewage is released when plants get overloaded, during heavy rains, for
example. The wastewater is blended with cleaner water, disinfected, and discharged.


Officials with the EPA say “blending” is a safe way for plants to avoid sewage backups in
people’s homes.


But Laurel O’Sullivan of the Lake Michigan Federation says the policy could have severe
consequences for public health in the Great Lakes region, where many sewer systems are old and
in need of more capacity.


“And the blending policy basically gives a pass to these sewer systems, in terms of trying to have
to upgrade their system’s capacity.”


O’Sullivan says the policy could result in a repeat of incidents such as a 1993 sewer overflow in
Milwaukee. The city’s water supply was contaminated by a parasite that killed more than a hundred
people.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Sarah Hulett.

Developing a New Test for West Nile Virus

Almost 6300 Americans contracted the West Nile virus this year. And 133 of them died. Each season, health officials scramble to predict where the virus will strike before it affects humans. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports on a experimental approach being used in Canada that might make that information faster and easier to collect:

Transcript

Almost 63 hundred Americans contracted the West Nile virus this year. And one
hundred 33 of
them died. Each season, health officials scramble to predict where the virus will
strike before it
affects humans. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports on a
experimental
approach being used in Canada that might make that information faster and easier to
collect:


(sound of chickens)


Stephen Burgess stands in front of a chicken coop. He holds an egg carton in one
hand while
slowly lifting the coop’s plywood cover. He carefully collects a dozen eggs that
have rolled into a
trough at the back of the cage.


From here, he’ll visit thirty more sites around Ottawa, Canada’s capital.
Collecting eggs from
small farmers as well as test flocks set up around the city. It’s a new form of a
common early
warning system that’s used for the West Nile virus – the sentinel chicken flock.
But in this case,
it’s the eggs that are tested, not the chickens.


“Many states in the United States are using chickens but they are taking blood
samples from the
chickens every one to two weeks. The approach that we’re doing is we’re able to
monitor for
West Nile virus by looking for specific proteins in the eggs.”


Burgess says this offers researchers some distinct advantages. Blood sampling
requires the use of
trained technicians – one to hold the bird while the other draws blood. This causes
stress to the
chicken. And it poses a danger to the humans who are handling the blood samples.


Two people have been infected with West Nile virus while collecting chicken blood.
Burgess
says the nice thing about eggs is that they pose no risk to humans, and they’re easy
to get.


“If you want to go and look at a particular county, you can say, go out and collect
every egg from
every backyard flock this week and you can have a flash snapshot of what is the
status throughout
the county and that was totally unfeasible using previous approaches.”


Burgess is leading a pilot project to test out this approach in the Ottawa region.
He’s a biochemist
by training and runs a company with Hugh Fackrell, a microbiologist at the
University of
Windsor. The two had been working in the lab, trying identify antibodies in animal
blood. This
spring, they stumbled upon a method that they say reveals the complete immune
profile of a
chicken by examining its egg.


For now, they’re keeping that method a secret – until it’s patented. But it was
enough to convince
Ontario’s Ministry of Health to fast track a pilot project for this fall.


Dave Jensen is a spokesman with the ministry.


“We’re interested in testing out this approach because it offers both a less
invasive way of getting
test results and a way of getting more of them than doing it the way we have been.”


The project has also attracted the attention of researchers at the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control.


Jennifer Brown is a scientist at the CDC’s West Nile headquarters in Fort Collins,
Colorado.


“This is very new work and it’s very interesting. We’re really looking forward to
hearing the
results of this pilot study, but I think it’s too early to say how useful it’s going
to be in future West
Nile surveillance efforts.”


For instance, Brown says it might require a redesign of the sentinel chicken cages
that are
typically used.


“If you had an egg that was positive for West Nile antibodies, you would want to
know which
chicken it came from and you would want to know how many chickens in the flock were
laying
eggs that contained West Nile antibody.”


At this point, the pilot project is not that specific. Researchers are looking for
evidence of West
Nile in each flock, rather than the individual birds.


But Stephen Burgess, the pilot project’s director, is taking the idea into account.
He plans to
deliver a final report on the project in December. He’ll consider what worked, and
what needs
improving. And he hopes to demonstrate that testing eggs can provide a safer, and
less expensive
alternative for tracking the West Nile virus.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Karen Kelly.

‘Good’ Air Days Bad for Asthmatic Kids

A new study indicates even when the EPA’s Air Quality Index is green, indicating ‘good’ air quality, the pollution in the air could trigger asthma problems for kids. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

A new study indicates even when the EPA’s Air Quality Index is green, indicating
‘good’ air
quality, the pollution in the air could trigger asthma problems for kids. The Great
Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:


This study by Yale University looked at children who had asthma and measured the
effects of air
pollution such as ozone.


Janneane Gent led the study.


“And what we found was that among the children who had the more severe asthma, for
every 50
parts per billion increase in the level of ozone, the likelihood that they would
wheeze was
increased by 35 percent. And the chance that they would experience chest tightness
was
increased by 47 percent.”


That 50 parts per billion of ozone is within the range that’s considered ‘good’ air
quality by the
Environmental Protection Agency. Gent says that means even on ‘yellow’ or
‘moderate’ air
quality days parents should make sure kids with asthma are kept indoors and their
activity levels
kept low to avoid triggering asthma attacks.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.

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Soot Now Part of Epa Air Quality Alerts

The Environmental Protection Agency is expanding its air quality forecasts for more than 100 cities. That means you’ll be getting air quality alerts during the winter, too. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Rebecca Williams reports:

Transcript

The Environmental Protection Agency is expanding its air quality forecasts for more than 100
cities. That means you’ll be getting air quality alerts during the winter, too. The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Rebecca Williams reports:


The Air Quality Index has five color codes. They range from green for days when the air is good,
to purple when the air is hazardous. In the summer, the index forecasts ozone pollution. Now,
the EPA will use the index to forecast particle pollution year-round.


Particle pollution is the soot that comes mainly from coal-burning industries and diesel engines.
Jeff Holmstead is the assistant administrator of the EPA’s Air Office.


“These tiny particles are almost microscopic, and they can actually bypass some of the body’s
normal protective functions and embed deep in the lungs and cause problems.”


Holmstead says particle pollution can be especially harmful for adults with heart or lung
problems, and kids with asthma. But he says even healthy people should take the warnings
seriously.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Rebecca Williams.

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Pollution Breaks for Factory Farms?

Environmental groups allege the Bush administration might want to give large, so-called “factory farms” a break under the Clean Air Act and Superfund laws. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:

Transcript

Environmental groups allege the Bush administration might want to give large, so-called “factory
farms” a break under the Clean Air Act and Superfund laws. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:


Environmental groups contend that the livestock industries have asked the EPA not to require
they comply with the Clean Air Act and Superfund hazardous waste laws.


Andrew Hanson is an attorney with Midwest Environmental Advocates. He says the big farms
pump out large amounts of air pollutants like ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, volatile organic
compounds and particles.


“Those four categories of air pollution can be very harmful to people who live near these
operations, live near these manure pits and live near those free-stall barns that house thousands of
cows.”


A coalition of environmental groups has filed a Freedom of Information lawsuit, asking the Bush
administration to disclose any negotiations with the meat industry. But the White House says it is
not cutting any deals with the owners of large farms.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Chuck Quirmbach, reporting.

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POWER COMPANY SWITCHES TO NATURAL GAS (Short Version)

A power company in the Great Lakes region is dramatically reducing pollution at two of its power plants. The move could prompt other power companies to do the same. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Ann Alquist reports:

Transcript

A power company in the Great Lakes region is dramatically reducing pollution at two of
its power plants. The move could prompt other power companies to do the same. The
Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Ann Alquist reports:

Minnesota’s largest supplier of electricity, Xcel Energy, has submitted a voluntary
proposal to convert its two oldest, and dirtiest, coal burning plants to natural gas. The
cost of the conversion – one billion dollars – will be passed on to Xcel’s customers.

It will mean a 99 percent reduction in emissions – and mercury emissions will be
eliminated. The plant itself will undergo some changes, with some of the taller structures
no longer marring the skyline.

Ron Ellsner is the project manager for Xcel’s proposal.

“Cleaning up some of the older equipment that will be abandoned, we hope it has a
positive impact on the landscape for our city and for our neighbors.”

If government regulators approve the proposal, it will likely put pressure on other power
companies in the Great Lakes region to do the same.

For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Ann Alquist.

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