Irradiated Sewage Sludge for Application to Cropland
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IAEA-TECDOC-1317 Irradiated sewage sludge for application to cropland Results of a co-ordinated research project organized by the Joint FAO-IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture October 2002 The originating Section of this publication in the IAEA was: Soil and Water Management & Crop Nutrition Section International Atomic Energy Agency Wagramer Strasse 5 P.O. Box 100 A-1400 Vienna, Austria IRRADIATED SEWAGE SLUDGE FOR APPLICATION TO CROPLAND IAEA, VIENNA, 2002 IAEA-TECDOC-1317 ISBN 92–0–117102–1 ISSN 1011–4289 © IAEA, 2002 Printed by the IAEA in Austria October 2002 FOREWORD Modern urban societies produce large volumes of sewage, which are transported through a network of underground sewers to wastewater treatment plants, where one or more stages of physical, biological and chemical treatment are imposed. Considerable tonnages of aerobically, and sometimes anaerobically, digested sludge are produced, and treated or untreated effluent is discharged to lagoons, waterways or the ocean. The disposal of sewage sludge is a major issue for municipal authorities. There are increasing legislative restrictions in many countries on disposal methods (e.g. incineration, landfill, composting) including surface application to agricultural land. Sludge can either be viewed as a dangerous waste requiring expensive disposal procedures, or it can be seen as a resource for possible use in agriculture as a soil conditioning agent and a source of plant nutrients. Untreated sewage sludge presents a public-health hazard as it contains human pathogens, including bacteria, viruses and other harmful organisms. Although it has been demonstrated that an appropriate dose of gamma-irradiation can eliminate human parasites and bacterial pathogens from sewage sludge, there is still public concern about the presence of viruses, as well as heavy metals and toxic organic compounds from industrial sources that could enter the food chain if sludge is applied to croplands. More information is also needed on the value of sludge as a source of plant nutrients, expressed in terms of fertilizer equivalence. In this regard, isotopic labelling techniques have a unique role to play in estimating the contribution of sewage sludge to crop nutrition. As a result of recommendations formulated at a Consultants Meeting organized by the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture and the IAEA Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences, 5–9 December 1994 (IAEA-TECDOC-971, Sewage Sludge and Wastewater for Use in Agriculture) the Joint Division implemented a Co-ordinated Research Project on the Use of Irradiated Sewage Sludge to Increase Soil Fertility and Crop Yields and to Preserve the Environment between 1995 and 2000. The overall objective was to assist national institutes from Member States to develop management practices for the efficient use of sewage sludge as an organic fertilizer for increasing and sustaining crop production and soil fertility in an environmentally sound manner. Twelve contract holders from Argentina, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, and Thailand, and five agreement holders from Austria, Germany, Japan, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom participated in the project. The first Research Co-ordination Meeting (RCM) was held 10–14 July 1995 in Vienna (S. Kumarasinghe, Project Officer), the second RCM 14–18 September 1996 in Cairo, Egypt (C. Hera, Project Officer), the third RCM 22–26 June 1998 in Oeiras, Portugal (P.M. Chalk, Project Officer), and the fourth RCM was held 20–24 September 1999 in Serdang, Malaysia (P.M. Chalk, Project Officer). This technical publication contains the manuscripts prepared by the project participants and edited by A.R.J. Eaglesham, Ithaca, New York. The IAEA Officer responsible for this publication is P.M. Chalk, Soil and Water Management & Crop Nutrition Section, Vienna. EDITORIAL NOTE This publication has been prepared from the original material as submitted by the authors. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the IAEA, the governments of the nominating Member States or the nominating organizations. The use of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judgement by the publisher, the IAEA, as to the legal status of such countries or territories, of their authorities and institutions or of the delimitation of their boundaries. The mention of names of specific companies or products (whether or not indicated as registered) does not imply any intention to infringe proprietary rights, nor should it be construed as an endorsement or recommendation on the part of the IAEA. The authors are responsible for having obtained the necessary permission for the IAEA to reproduce, translate or use material from sources already protected by copyrights. CONTENTS Summary ..................................................................................................................................................1 Evaluation of irradiated sewage sludge as an industrial crop fertilizer using nuclear techniques ..............................................................................................5 C. Magnavacca Use of sewage sludge in Austria – I. A comprehensive case study .......................................................13 F. Koch, M.H. Gerzabek, M. Peev Use of sewage sludge in Austria – II. N-availability and heavy-metal uptake ......................................23 M.H. Gerzabek, E. Lombi, P. Herger Isotope-aided studies on the effects of radiation-processed sewage sludge on crop yields and bioavailability of heavy metals...........................................................................35 S. Ahmed, M.B. Hossain, S.M. Rahman Characterization of irradiated sewage sludge and its effects on soil fertility, crop yields and nutrient bioavailability...................................................................53 L.X. Zhou, Y.C. Xu, T.H. Jiang, S.J. Zheng, H.L. Wu Irradiated sewage sludge for increased crop production – I. Pathogens and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons ............................................................................67 R. El-Motaium, H.E.M. Ezzat, M. El-Batanony, R. Kreuzig, M. Abo-El.Seoud Irradiated sewage sludge for increased crop production – II. Effects on soil properties and tomato yields.....................................................................................75 R.El-Motaium, S.H. Badawy Irradiated sewage sludge for increased crop production – III. Macronutrient availability.................................................................................................................83 R. El-Motaium, Irradiated sewage sludge for increased crop production – IV. Micronutrient availability .................................................................................................................93 R. El-Motaium, S.H. Badawy Irradiated sewage sludge for increased crop production – V. Heavy-metal availability .................................................................................................................101 R. El-Motaium, S.H. Badawy Organic contaminants in sewage sludge and wastewater: Their metabolic fate in crops and their impact on food quality......................................................111 H. Harms Uptake of macronutrients and heavy metals by maize/green-gram crops from an inceptisol amended with normal and irradiated sewage sludge ........................................127 V.V. Athalye, V. Ramachandran, D.U. Patel, T.J. D’Souza Domestic sewage-sludge application to five cycles of corn: Effects on N-uptake and heavy-metal accumulation.......................................................................139 C.I. Fauziah, A.B. Rosenani Utilization of sewage sludge for enhancing agricultural productivity – I. Responses of wheat to fertilizer N and irradiated sewage sludge...................................................145 F. Azam, M. Ashraf, A. Lodhi, A. Gulnaz Utilization of sewage sludge for enhancing agricultural productivity – II. Responses of rice to fertilizer N and irradiated sewage sludge ......................................................153 F. Azam, A. Lodhi, M. Ashraf, A. Gulnaz The use of sewage sludge as a fertilizer in pastures E.M. Ferreira, I.V. Castro ..............................................................................................................161 Use of nuclear techniques for evaluating agricultural use of sewage sludge.......................................................................................................................171 M. Dumitru, D.M. Motelică, A. Alexandrescu, D. Plaxienco, E. GamenĠ, E. Dumitru, N. Vrînceanu, I. Prodan The effects of long-term application of sewage sludge on soil properties...........................................183 H. Kirchmann The use of irradiated wastewater sludge cake to increase soil fertility and crop yields, and to preserve the environment..............................................................189 J. Prasatsrisupab, V. Sabua, S. Tammarate M. Pumklom, P. Chaiwanakupt, S. Srithongtim Bioavailability of heavy metals from sewage sludge and some long-term effects on soil microbes in agricultural ecosystems.......................................................199 S.P. McGrath, F.J. Zhao, A.M. Chaudri Assessing bio-availability of metals in biosolid-amended soils: Root exudates and their effects on solubility of metals..................................................................217