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You are here: Home / Archives for Sewage

Sewage

Cities and rainwater

September 24, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Cities across the country are grappling with the problem that bigger, more frequent rainstorms occurring as a result of climate change are overtaxing the systems put in place to handle stormwater.  Cities use a combination of so-called green infrastructure – such as rain gardens and porous pavements – and traditional gray infrastructure, such as pipes, tunnels, and pump stations.

In 2011, Philadelphia drew national attention for its Green City, Clean Waters program that was designed to manage the increasing amount of storm water using mostly green infrastructure.  Thirteen years later, the city is experiencing billions of gallons of polluted stormwater overflowing its sewage outfall pipes each year.  Green infrastructure is cheaper and faster to build, but it is not coping with increasing rainfall.

About 700 U.S. municipalities, mostly in the Northeast and around the Great Lakes, rely on these combined sewer systems.  Based on updated climate projections, many are having to greatly increase gray infrastructure projects that include concrete holding tanks, tunnels, and pipes that can divert and hold onto flows until the rain stops, and water treatment plants can recover.  These projects can take decades to implement and cost billions of dollars.

All across the country, cities are going to need to bite the bullet and make large-scale investments in conventional sewage infrastructure and repairs to stop billions of gallons of raw sewage from running into rivers.  The increased storms present a daunting challenge for America’s cities.

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Faced With Heavier Rains, Cities Scramble to Control Polluted Runoff

Photo, posted August 29, 2011, courtesy of Reggie via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Fertilizers from wastewater sludge

July 30, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Sewage sludge is the mud-like residue that is produced as a byproduct during wastewater treatment.  In the U.S., sewage sludge is referred to as biosolids after it’s been treated.  The term is meant to distinguish the higher quality, treated sludge from raw sludge and from sludge that contains large quantities of environmental pollutants. 

However, according to a new study by researchers from Johns Hopkins University, fertilizers manufactured from the sludgy leftovers of wastewater treatment processes can still contain traces of potentially hazardous organic chemicals.

The research, which was recently published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, provides one of the most comprehensive looks at the chemical composition of biosolids across the country. 

Biosolids do contain valuable organic matter and nutrients, including nitrogen and phosphorus.  According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, more than half of the 3.76 million tons of biosolids produced in the U.S. in 2022 fertilized agricultural lands, golf courses, and other landscaped areas.

In the study, the research team screened 16 samples of biosolids from wastewater treatment facilities in nine U.S. and three Canadian cities. The researchers then created lists of the chemicals found in each sample.  They found 92 common compounds that were present in 80% or more of the samples.  The researchers cross-referenced those 92 compounds against the EPA’s CompTox Chemical Dashboard to identify which chemicals were most likely to pose threats to human health or the environment.

The findings could help the EPA identify which organic compounds to investigate further and which chemical contaminants may need government regulation. 

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Team Aims to Improve Safety of Fertilizers Made from Wastewater Sludge

Photo, posted November 2, 2011, courtesy of Susana Secretariat via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Car tires in your salad

June 26, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Leafy green vegetables may contain tire particles

There seems to be no end to the types of pollution we have introduced into the environment.  One that has only recently started to gain attention is pollution caused by vehicle tires. 

Through normal wear and tear, as vehicles drive along roadways, their tires cast off countless bits of rubber.  These particles can linger in the atmosphere or can be washed down sewage drains and into waterways.  In the water, these particles leach compounds that are toxic to wildlife.

Tires contain various chemical additives that prevent them from cracking and degrading along with various metals and other materials added to rubber and artificial rubber.  Some of these additives are acutely toxic or even carcinogenic.

A recent study by researchers at the University of Vienna tested leafy vegetables that were grown in Switzerland, Spain, and Italy, and were sold in Swiss supermarkets.  The study also tested vegetables harvested directly from Israeli farmlands.

Tire ingredients were found in 11 out of 15 samples gathered from Swiss supermarkets and 9 out of 13 samples collected from Israeli fields.  Among these are 6PPD, a tire additive that has been identified as the cause of the extensive deaths of coho salmon on the US West Coast.

The researchers say that farmers may be introducing tire additives by irrigating crops with treated wastewater or by using sewage sludge as fertilizer.  Airborne tire particles may also be settling on farm soil.

The concentration of tire particles found in the leafy vegetables are relatively low, but it is troubling that we are eating dangerous chemicals used to improve the quality of tires.

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Leafy Vegetables Found to Contain Tire Additives

Photo, posted October 14, 2014, courtesy of Green Mountain Girls Farm via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

How to reduce pollution from food production

January 17, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Present in animal manure and synthetic fertilizers, nitrogen is an essential nutrient for plant growth and is a critical input to enhance agricultural productivity on farms around the world.  But excessive and inefficient use of this nutrient is widespread.  In fact, up to 80% of it leaks into the environment, mostly in various polluting forms of nitrogen: ammonia and nitrogen oxides (which are harmful air pollutants), nitrous oxide (a potent greenhouse gas), and nitrate (which affects water quality).

A new report prepared for the United Nations has put forth some solutions to greatly reduce nitrogen pollution from agriculture in Europe.  A group of researchers coordinated by the U.K. Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, the European Commission, the Copenhagen Business School, and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment of The Netherlands produced the report.

In it, the research team puts forth its recipe to reduce nitrogen pollution in Europe.  The report’s ingredients include:

  • Reducing by 50% the average European meat and dairy consumption
  • More efficient fertilizer application and manure storage
  • Reducing food production demand by reducing food waste by retailers and consumers
  • Better wastewater treatment to capture nitrogen from sewage
  • Adopting policies addressing food production and consumption to transition them towards more sustainable systems

Taking action to reduce nitrogen pollution will require a holistic approach involving farmers, policymakers, retailers, water companies, and individuals. 

Do Europeans have an appetite for change?

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Scientists provide recipe to halve pollution from food production

Photo, posted March 10, 2022, courtesy of USDA NRCS Montana via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Antibiotics In The Environment

June 6, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Antibiotics make their way into the environment in many ways.  Sources of antibiotic pollution include the waste from large-scale animal farms and the wastewater from hospitals, municipalities, and antibiotic manufacturing.

A new study has discovered concentrations of antibiotics in some of the world’s rivers exceed safe levels by up to 300 times.  In the project, researchers looked for 14 commonly used antibiotics in rivers in 72 countries across six continents.  They found antibiotics at 65% of all the sites they examined. 

The antibiotic ciproflaxacin was the compound that most frequently exceeded safe levels, surpassing that threshold in 51 places. The antibiotic metronidazole exceeded safe levels by the biggest margin.  Concentrations of this antibiotic at one site in Bangladesh was 300 times greater than the safe level.  The most prevalent antibiotic was trimethoprim.  It was detected at 307 of the 711 sites. 

Some of the world’s most iconic rivers were sampled as a part of this study, including the Danube, Mekong, Seine, Thames, Tiber and Tigris. 

The project, which was led by the University of York, found that high-risk sites were often located near wastewater treatment systems, waste or sewage dumps, and in some areas of political unrest. 

Safe levels for antibiotics, which were recently established by the AMR Industry Alliance, range from 20,000 to 32,000 nanograms per liter depending on the compound. 

According to the research team, solutions to the problem of antibiotic contamination should include infrastructure investment, tighter regulation, and the remediation of already contaminated sites. 

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Antibiotics found in some of the world’s rivers exceed ‘safe’ levels, global study finds

Photo, posted October 7, 2013, courtesy of Nicola via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Hippo Waste And Fish

September 10, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/EW-09-10-18-Hippo-Pools.mp3

Agricultural and sewage pollution can cause low-oxygen conditions and fish kills in rivers. A new study published in Nature Communications reports that hippo waste can have a similar effect in Africa’s Mara River, which passes through the world renowned Maasai Mara National Reserve of Kenya and is home to more than 4,000 hippos.

[Read more…] about Hippo Waste And Fish

Wastewater Instead Of Dams

July 2, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/EW-07-02-18-Wastewater-Instead-of-Dams.mp3

The era of dam building is coming to an end in much of the developed world.  Dams are very expensive, environmentally harmful, and as the climate warms and droughts become more common, are not that reliable.

[Read more…] about Wastewater Instead Of Dams

Nitrogen Pollution

March 30, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/EW-03-30-18-Nitrogen-Pollution.mp3

Earth system scientists say that there are four major human-caused forces that threaten to cause irreversible and abrupt environmental upheaval:  climate change, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and excess nitrogen.

[Read more…] about Nitrogen Pollution

Biodegradable Microbeads

July 20, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/EW-07-20-17-Biodegradable-Microbeads.mp3

Microbeads are little spheres of plastic less than half a millimeter in diameter that are added to a variety of personal care and cleaning products such as cosmetics, sunscreens and fillers.  They give these products a desirable smooth texture.   However, they are so small that sewage filtration systems can’t remove them and they end up in rivers and oceans where they are ingested by birds, fish and other marine life.

[Read more…] about Biodegradable Microbeads

Whales In The Big Apple

July 12, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/EW-07-12-17-Whales-in-the-Big-Apple.mp3

For the first time in a century, humpback whales have returned to the waters of New York harbor.   These are not rare sightings, either.  The whales are showing up in enough numbers that a company is taking tourists out into the harbor to see whales with a backdrop of Manhattan skyscrapers.

[Read more…] about Whales In The Big Apple

Threats To Coral Reefs

May 12, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/EW-05-12-17-Threats-to-Coral-Reefs.mp3

There has been much news recently about the growing bleaching events going on in the world’s coral reefs associated with ocean warming and acidification.  The massive damage to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is an ongoing tragedy.

[Read more…] about Threats To Coral Reefs

Lake Baikal

January 4, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/EW-01-04-17-Lake-Baikal.mp3

Lake Baikal is an ancient and massive body of freshwater found in the mountainous Russian region of Siberia.  Deep and voluminous, Lake Baikal holds 20% of the planet’s unfrozen freshwater.  And it’s often been described as the world’s cleanest and most pristine lake. 

[Read more…] about Lake Baikal

Restorative Ocean Farming

November 16, 2016 By WAMC WEB

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/EW-11-16-16-Restorative-Ocean-Farming.mp3

The conventional aquaculture industry has often been associated with many of the same problems that beset land-based agriculture:   creating sterile monocultures, fouling the environment with pesticides, antibiotics and organic pollutants, and spreading diseases.

[Read more…] about Restorative Ocean Farming

Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria In The Hudson

August 25, 2015 By EarthWise

Hudson River Bank

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/EW-08-25-15-Antibiotic-Resistant-Bacteria-Hudson.mp3

Combined sewer systems are designed to collect rainwater runoff, sewage, and industrial wastewater in the same pipe, and then transport the wastewater to a sewage treatment plant.  But during heavy rainfall events, wastewater treatment plants can get overwhelmed, forcing them to discharge untreated water into nearby water bodies. This intentional discharge of dirty water is known as C-S-Os – or combined sewer overflows.

[Read more…] about Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria In The Hudson

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