Wasting Away: To Sludge or Not to Sludge?

Following a century of high standards of sanitation, food and water safety in North America are often taken for granted. Recent outbreaks of illness attributed to food and water contamination, however, have challenged this complacency. Now, sludge is added to the list of concerns. Sewage sludge is t...

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Main Authors: L Nicolle, M Miller
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2001-01-01
Series:Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2001/581010
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author L Nicolle
M Miller
author_facet L Nicolle
M Miller
author_sort L Nicolle
collection DOAJ
description Following a century of high standards of sanitation, food and water safety in North America are often taken for granted. Recent outbreaks of illness attributed to food and water contamination, however, have challenged this complacency. Now, sludge is added to the list of concerns. Sewage sludge is the muddy substance that remains after the treatment of municipal sewage. This material includes not only human waste, but also household and industrial toxic wastes disposed of in local sewers. Federal and provincial Canadian regulations support the use of this material as fertilizer, within acceptable guidelines, as does the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States. The safety of sludge, however, is questioned by some individuals and groups. Specifically, the risk of infectious agents and toxins to workers or other exposed individuals, and the potential for heavy metals and organic chemicals to be transferred from sludge-treated fields into crops are concerns.
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spelling doaj-art-8134bd6e5de142e2a10cf156c477dd2a2025-08-20T03:35:06ZengWileyCanadian Journal of Infectious Diseases1180-23322001-01-0112420120110.1155/2001/581010Wasting Away: To Sludge or Not to Sludge?L Nicolle0M Miller1The Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaDepartment of Microbiology, Division of Infectious Diseases, Sir Mortimer B Davis Jewish General Hospital and McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, CanadaFollowing a century of high standards of sanitation, food and water safety in North America are often taken for granted. Recent outbreaks of illness attributed to food and water contamination, however, have challenged this complacency. Now, sludge is added to the list of concerns. Sewage sludge is the muddy substance that remains after the treatment of municipal sewage. This material includes not only human waste, but also household and industrial toxic wastes disposed of in local sewers. Federal and provincial Canadian regulations support the use of this material as fertilizer, within acceptable guidelines, as does the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States. The safety of sludge, however, is questioned by some individuals and groups. Specifically, the risk of infectious agents and toxins to workers or other exposed individuals, and the potential for heavy metals and organic chemicals to be transferred from sludge-treated fields into crops are concerns.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2001/581010
spellingShingle L Nicolle
M Miller
Wasting Away: To Sludge or Not to Sludge?
Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases
title Wasting Away: To Sludge or Not to Sludge?
title_full Wasting Away: To Sludge or Not to Sludge?
title_fullStr Wasting Away: To Sludge or Not to Sludge?
title_full_unstemmed Wasting Away: To Sludge or Not to Sludge?
title_short Wasting Away: To Sludge or Not to Sludge?
title_sort wasting away to sludge or not to sludge
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2001/581010
work_keys_str_mv AT lnicolle wastingawaytosludgeornottosludge
AT mmiller wastingawaytosludgeornottosludge