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Storm Brewing In North Ala.County

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Old Ford Mechan

10-11-2007 20:31:58




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Opinons please,The Limestone County Commisson voted Wednesday to seek an injunction to stop the use of biosolids "treated human waste" as fertilizer on farm fields in the county.The citizens of the area have been up in arms since the applications began about 3 weeks ago.The stench is terrible and stories have on the news everyday lately.The commisson wants to stop the spreading,until potential health risks can be determined.
Houston Tx.based Snyagro Technologies Inc. has been supplying area farmers the free "fertilizer"through its Leighton Al. plant.Biosolids are said to contain nutrients similar to other,more familar fertilizers.Common concerns of using human fecal waste as fertilizer include the possible presence of prescription drug residue and more than 60.000 toxic substances.Cnn.com has reported that biosolids pose a risk of infecting humans with "ascariasis" a type of roundworm.
The EPA approved the use of biosolids in 2004,proposing to change what was then called"sewage sludge"into "compost.
A spokesman for the company says,"this is tested,treated,and its safe.I don't believe that should be any concerns from the citizens.The waste is being sent from New York city to the plant,who after processing and treating it,gives it to the farmers.Sounds like New york City has found a way to get rid of their sewage problem.Pay the Houston company to take it and give to the southern farmer.Nobody gives anyone anything for nothing.The company advises to remove all livestock for 90 days from the ground the fertilizer is spread on.But what about the Deer,Turkey and other wildlife? WHAT ABOUT IT GUYS?

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Kent H

10-13-2007 13:47:29




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 Re: Storm Brewing In North Ala.County in reply to Old Ford Mechanic, 10-11-2007 20:31:58  
Better watch out for this stuff. Properly treated this stuff should'nt stink. So the Biosolid people say? So if it stinks, its not treated. We had the N-viro people up up here in northern NY. They were going to build a Show Farm, ended up just dumping tons on the land. Slimy grey goo, didnt look treated at all. Stunk worse than a port-a-potty in July. Locals put a stop to it. Do your own thinking on this stuff. The bio solid people and the EPA and DEC, may not have your best intrest in mind. Remember money talks.

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Old Ford Mechanic

10-12-2007 21:43:35




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 Re: Storm Brewing In North Ala.County in reply to Old Ford Mechanic, 10-11-2007 20:31:58  
Sorry guys,16 hour workday today,I need to say the application of this fertilizer is being done via dry spreader truck.It is not in "sludge form".Its a granulated form.I could see why its stinks so bad if it was being applied in a liquid form.But this is dry stuff.The farmer is not plowing it under either.Applying on top and waiting for rain to melt it into the ground.Thats another thing,no rain here in along time.About 30 inches shy of our yearly avg.Anyway thanks for all the input.Its like anything else around here,it'll die down after awhile.

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john *.?-!.* cub owner

10-12-2007 19:05:37




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 Re: Storm Brewing In North Ala.County in reply to Jim James, 10-11-2007 20:31:58  
In most areas biosolids are only allowed for above ground crops. not tubers, etc.



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tractormiallis

10-12-2007 18:48:44




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 Re: Storm Brewing In North Ala.County in reply to Old Ford Mechanic, 10-11-2007 20:31:58  
The heavy metals are from industrial wastes in plating and factories which is illegally poured down the sewers. Big problem in big cities, they can track them down but its a reoccurring issue. The metals stay in the waste all through treatment process.



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charlien

10-12-2007 18:29:51




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 Re: Storm Brewing In North Ala.County in reply to Old Ford Mechanic, 10-11-2007 20:31:58  
Check out thhttp://www.milorganite.com/about/history.cfmis link



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landlord7012

10-12-2007 15:52:37




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 Re: Storm Brewing In North Ala.County in reply to Old Ford Mechanic, 10-11-2007 20:31:58  
Had to clean up after a spill of that last spring with the fire dept. Driver forgot to latch the hatch and took a corner sharp. Treated it like hazardous material (which it is at least in liquid form). City engineer told us it was "treated, safe" but we shouldn't hose it in the ditch, used oil-dry instead. I believe if it is truly treated effectively it is o.k. With prescription drug collection site becoming more popular, that concern should lessen. Knife it in and work the soil. I honestly don't believe wildlife will come near it for a while. After all, what else can be reasonably done with it??

craplord

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Ken 46

10-12-2007 08:20:20




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 Re: Storm Brewing In North Ala.County in reply to Old Ford Mechanic, 10-11-2007 20:31:58  
In Eastern Colorado they receive train loads of the stuff from New York.
10 years ago some of the bigger farmers got together and started using this stuff. I don't know about the safety of the stuff - but the word is that it is safet and does wonder for the ground.



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toolz

10-12-2007 07:27:25




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 Re: Storm Brewing In North Ala.County in reply to Old Ford Mechanic, 10-11-2007 20:31:58  
A friend of mine was hired to haul a similar product out of our local sewage treatment plant a few years ago. It didn't stink real bad, and had a texture of thick jello. A car turned in front of him one day, and he had to slap on the binders. The stuff flowed over the front of his dump trailer, blew out the back window of his semi, and filled the cab about 2 feet deep with the black stuff. When I got to his house that night, I asked his wife where he was. She said "He's out back cleaning his truck. He's had a shi**y day." I don't think I've ever seen her laugh that hard. Had to strip the whole interior out of the truck. What a mess.

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dhermesc

10-12-2007 05:50:27




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 Re: Storm Brewing In North Ala.County in reply to Old Ford Mechanic, 10-11-2007 20:31:58  
I have to wonder about all the heavy metal claims. Just what are these people eating that they are passing that much?

As for the smell, agriculture is an industrial process. If you don't want to listen to noisy trains, don't live next to train yard, if you don't want to hear or smell the agricultural process, don't live next to a farm.



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Nolan

10-12-2007 05:26:13




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 Re: Storm Brewing In North Ala.County in reply to Old Ford Mechanic, 10-11-2007 20:31:58  
I"m quite familiar with synagro, "biosolids", the composting of them, etc. It"s part of my job.

It"s dried, composted, dried some more, and pelletized. The pellets have almost no odor. No pathogens or other worries. It"s tested regularly for heavy metals and such.

It"s far more common than most people realize. Currently, it"s commonly sold as Granulite.

I"m also real familiar with stinky sludge applications. That"s a different matter entirely. This is usually cattle farm lagoon pumpouts, spread over the ground. Sometimes it"s subsurface applied, many times it"s just sprayed on the ground.

Stinks incredibly. Runoff into streams is a god awful mess. Many places have it banned, but don"t enforce the ban.

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Michael Soldan

10-12-2007 05:15:32




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 Re: Storm Brewing In North Ala.County in reply to Old Ford Mechanic, 10-11-2007 20:31:58  
...from what I have read and understand the amounts of prescription medicines that are often disposed of by flushing and the build up of heavy metals is a serious consideration using this sludge as fertilizer. The thing that scares me the most is a report I read thatafter the appkication and incorporation of sludge into the soil the worm population is decimated, worms are an intrical part of the soil and humus breakdown and if worms can't handle sewage sludge then there is a serious damaging aspect of sludge. I have never had sludge spread on my farm, don't know anyone who has, but I know that the sewage lagoons in our town are cleaned every 5 years and it is being spread locally around my area. I think it is bad. Sludge can be dried and incinerated with less dangerous side effects

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Oldmax

10-12-2007 04:58:54




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 Re: Storm Brewing In North Ala.County in reply to Old Ford Mechanic, 10-11-2007 20:31:58  
If properly processed it should not be as harmfull as untreated waste from cattle or any other farm animal. They are not processing right because if processed right their should be very little odor most of the sludge is paper that doesent break up during the digesting process . I worked in the Water & sewer Industry for 30 years have seen a lot of S*it Might say im a S*it Expert . They are not finishing ther process letting it finish on farmers field . Cheaper that way. It all comes down to Money .

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KEH

10-12-2007 04:53:38




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 Re: Storm Brewing In North Ala.County in reply to Old Ford Mechanic, 10-11-2007 20:31:58  

Like the others said, don't think it has been treated properly. Some things they have done around here include putting lime with it to reduce smell or using a applicator that injects the stuff under the surface. Good way to get your land plowed. I don't think they can apply it the next year on the same place either. They also can apply it on the surface. Don't know if it's considered safe to have cows on pasture immediately. Of course, this is local stuff, not the NYC variety.

KEH

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GeneMo

10-11-2007 22:16:16




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 Re: Storm Brewing In North Ala.County in reply to Old Ford Mechanic, 10-11-2007 20:31:58  
Sounds like a bunch of crap to me guys.


Gene



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Old Ford Mechanic

10-11-2007 22:40:38




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 Re: Storm Brewing In North Ala.County in reply to GeneMo, 10-11-2007 22:16:16  
Yeah literally,Sure has everyone's temper riled around these parts.Farmers catching he!! too.I'm several miles away in the next county but,everywhere i go,stores,cafe ect. its the main topic.Parents scared to let kids outside to play in the yard.The stench is terrible,folks may be worried over nothing but,it is something to be concerned with.Poultry farms sell chicken liter here also for fertilize.It smells for 3 or 4 days also after spreading,but not as bad as the sh??,uh i mean the biosolids do.But it does make you wonder about the wildlife and livestock that come in contact with the grass and water where its been spread.

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kyplowboy

10-11-2007 23:44:32




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 Re: Storm Brewing In North Ala.County in reply to Old Ford Mechanic, 10-11-2007 22:40:38  
I have been around a lot of broiler litter and a lot of "sludge". If the sludge stinks worse than broiler litter then some thing ain't right at all. If it smells that bad it has not been composted. Leaveing the heavy metal fight out of it, if the stuff has not been composted to let the good "bugs" work, it still has a great deal of bad "bugs" in it!!!! Properly composted anything, chicken or human, will not stink too bad.

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Walt Davies

10-11-2007 22:10:48




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 Re: Storm Brewing In North Ala.County in reply to Old Ford Mechanic, 10-11-2007 20:31:58  
Where does all the heavy metals come from that stuff is from what we eat you guys eating a lot of heavy metals lately.

Its not supposed to stink if correctly processed and the local city that does it here adds lime to help with the break down and also your land needs its.

I looked into it for my hay fields but I'm to far away for them.
Walt



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Blue3992 (N Illinois)

10-11-2007 21:25:53




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 Re: Storm Brewing In North Ala.County in reply to Old Ford Mechanic, 10-11-2007 20:31:58  
About 15 years ago or so, a farmer started putting sewage sludge on his field. Same deal, some company came out and applied it "for free."

It stunk to high heaven, and I remember my Dad complaining that the sewage could contain high level of heavy metals.

Well, I think it got applied twice. Dad was not one to casue any ruckus, but this really got him riled up. When he heard that the truck was coming again to apply more "fertilizer," he took his big 'ol Ford truck and parked it across the entrance to the field so the sewage truck coudln't get in. The sewage driver never came back.

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Davis In SC

10-11-2007 21:10:59




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 Re: Storm Brewing In North Ala.County in reply to Old Ford Mechanic, 10-11-2007 20:31:58  
That ain't healthy... I forget the details, but years ago, they used to come out & apply sludge here, for free.. IIRC, lots of dead cows, aborted calves, etc...



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kyplowboy

10-11-2007 20:43:52




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 Re: Storm Brewing In North Ala.County in reply to Old Ford Mechanic, 10-11-2007 20:31:58  
If it stinks that bad something ain't right. If it has been composted right odor should be next to nill. Here you can spread sludge but the paper work needed is more than most want to mess with.



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730virgil

10-11-2007 20:42:09




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 Re: Storm Brewing In North Ala.County in reply to Old Ford Mechanic, 10-11-2007 20:31:58  
i have heard that sludge has a high amount of heavy metals such as mercury. you might want to check this info out.



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