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Caucuses & Working Groups Biosolids & Wastewater Halifax Regional Municipality's (HRM) Harbour Solutions Project has begun treating the millions of 1itres of residential and commercial sewage that have been dumped directly into the harbour over the past 250 years. Harbour sewage is treated through an advanced primary filtration system at three new wastewater treatment facilities in Halifax, Dartmouth, and Herring Cove. The sewage runs through a filter separating the dirty water from the suspended solids. The left-over solids are trucked daily to N-Viro's treatment plant in the Aerotech Business Park. At the plant, the biosolids are heated and mixed with locally-produced cement kiln dust (CKD). The end product, known as "biosolids," is promoted as a fertilizer and spread by farmers on fields throughout Nova Scotia. The biosolids may also be applied to non-agricultural marginal land and to forests. These biosolids contain a composition of everything flushed down toilets and drains, such as household cleaners, pharmaceuticals, and waste from the Halifax and Dartmouth hospitals. The NSEN mining caucus is opposed to the land application of biosolids because we believe that the product is inadequately tested for pathogens and carcinogens and poses a threat to agricultural land, farm animals, food, water and public health. We are a group of concerned citizens including environmentalists, organic farmers, concerned consumers, and health professionals. We also think that the governments, both municipal and provincial, are not adequately explaining the risks of this practice. The provincial government's 2004 Guidelines For Land Application and Storage of Biosolids in Nova Scotia outline the requirements for testing and reporting on biosolids but are only voluntary. NSEN Biosolids & Wastewater Caucus Calls On Government To Protect Farmland And Food Safety The NSEN Biosolids & Wastewater Caucus are asking Nova Scotians to collect signatures on a petition to the provincial government to declare an immediate moratorium on the use of sewage sludge (biosolids) on Nova Scotia lands and to adopt with minimum delay safe options for sewage sludge disposal or destruction. Reads the latest biosolids news here Resources and Documents Links Canadian Biosolids Partnership www.cwwa.ca Citizens for Sludge-Free Land (CFSL) www.sludgefacts.org Nova Science Forum on Biosolids www.gov.ns.ca/nse/forum.biosolids.2005/ Nova Scotia Wastewater - Department of Environment www.gov.ns.ca/nse/wastewater/ Sludge Facts www.sludgefacts.org US Sludge Free www.usludgefree.org US Sludge News www.sludgenews.org US Sustainable Sanitation Alliance www.susana.org/index.php/lang-en/case-studies Join Us 
Information about the NSEN Biosolids Yahoo Group is here: http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/nsenbiosolids/ |
The Application of Halifax Regional Municipality Biosolids on Agricultural Lands in Nova Scotia Dalhousie University 2009
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