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Assessing the Potential for the Upstream Control of Contaminants Present in Materials Spread to Land

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Assessing the Potential for the Upstream Control of Contaminants Present in Materials Spread to Land FINAL REPORT ASSESSING THE POTENTIAL FOR THE UPSTREAM CONTROL OF CONTAMINANTS PRESENT IN MATERIALS SPREAD TO LAND SARA MONTEIRO, CAROL MILNER, CHRIS SINCLAIR, ALISTAIR BOXALL DEFRA PROJECT: SP0578 FERA PROJECT: T6PU APRIL 2011 This report has been produced at The Food and Environment Research Agency on behalf of Defra EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The UK produces over 100 million tonnes of biodegradable waste every year and a significant proportion of this is disposed of in landfills. In order to meet regulatory targets, the Government, local authorities and industry need to find alternatives to sending waste to landfill and, for some waste materials one option is to apply the material to soil. The application of organic materials to soil not only provides nutrients and organic matter but also physical improvements. Each source of organic material has its own specific characteristic mix of organic matter, nutrients and structural improvers. When spread to land, organic materials recycle nutrients and organic matter back into the soil that otherwise would be destroyed by incineration or wasted in landfill. Requirements for the use of chemical fertilizer are also reduced by this practice. Inorganic materials can also improve the soil physical properties such as texture and porosity. There is however potential disadvantages associated with land spreading of materials derived from wastes, primarily due to the potential contaminants they might contain. These disadvantages include threats to human and animal health, soil contamination and deterioration of soil structure, odour and visual nuisance, and pollution of water. There is therefore a need to gain an understanding of what contaminants are present in different waste types, the potential for these to enter the soil environment and, in instances where a contaminant poses a risk, approaches to control these risks. Aim and scope The overall aim of this project was therefore to identify contaminants and their sources in organic and inorganic materials spread to land in order to assist in the development of a strategy to help reduce the loadings of these contaminants at the source. This was addressed using a number of specific objectives: To identify contaminants, and their sources, in organic and inorganic materials spread onto land; To quantify the relative contribution of total load that these sources represent in each material; To identify the relative importance of different waste materials in terms of inputs of contaminants to land; To identify approaches to reduce the loading at the source; To review relevant legislation and voluntary/advisory initiatives; and, To suggest best options for reducing inputs. This study focused on a range of materials, namely: Sewage sludge Septic tank sludge The Food and Environment Research Agency ii Livestock manure Biowaste Compost Digestate Industrial wastes: Pulp and paper industry sludge Waste wood, bark and other plant material Dredgings from inland waters Blood and gut contents from abattoir Textile waste Tannery and leather waste Waste from food and drinks preparation Waste from chemical and pharmaceutical manufacture Decarbonation sludge (predominantly inorganic) Sludge from the production of drinking water (predominantly inorganic) Waste lime and lime sludge (predominantly inorganic) Waste gypsum (predominantly inorganic) Results and conclusions Waste materials can be contaminated with a range of contaminants including potentially toxic elements (PTEs; Cu, Zn, Ni, Pb, Hg, Cd, Cr, As), organics (PCDDs, PCDFs, PAHs, PCBs, veterinary medicines, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, endocrine disrupting substances) and animal and plant pathogens. These contaminants arise from a plethora of sources including households, highway runoff, industrial processes and combustion processes. The data on the occurrence of these contaminants varies depending on the waste type, with some materials having very limited data and some (most notably sewage sludge) having a significant amount of information on contaminant levels. In order to assess the relative importance of different waste types as a source for soil contamination by a particular contaminant type, where possible, data on levels of contamination were combined with information on the application rates for the different waste types. This analysis demonstrated that for metals sewage sludge, compost, drinking water treatment sludge and meat processing liquids are the most important sources. For organics sewage sludge, dredgings, compost, abattoir waste and food and drink waste are important. For many contaminants, it was not possible to quantify the inputs from different waste materials so a more qualitative assessment was done. The results are shown in Table ES1. The Food and Environment Research Agency iii Table ES1. Summary of the input of contaminants following the application of different wastes Contaminants Material Bulk industrial and Human Veterinary Biocides PTEs POPs Pesticides Pathogens domestic chemicals pharmaceuticals medicines and PCPs Sewage sludge ++ ++ + + ++ NR ++ unlikely Septic tank sludge ++ + + + ++ NR ++ ++ (if untreated) Livestock manures + + + + NR ++ NR ++ (if untreated) Compost + + + + NR NR NR + (low) Digestate + + + + NR NR NR + (low) Pulp and paper industry sludge + + + NR NR NR + unlikely Waste wood, bark and other + + + + NR NR + + (low) plant material Dredgings ++ ++ ++ + + + + + (low) Abattoir waste + + + + NR + NR + (medium) Textile waste + + + + NR NR + unlikely Tannery and leather sludge + + + + NR NR + unlikely Waste from food and drinks + + + NR NR NR NR + (low) preparation Waste from chemical and + + + NR + + + unlikely pharmaceutical manufacture Waste lime and lime sludge + + + NR NR NR NR unlikely Waste gypsum + + + NR NR NR NR unlikely Decarbonation sludge + + + NR NR NR NR + (low) Drinking water preparation + + + NR NR NR NR possible sludge NR – not relevant + relevant ++ one of the major sources The Food and Environment Research Agency iv A systematic approach was used to determine potential management options for different contaminant types. This considered regulatory approaches, control options at source as well as treatment options during the waste lifecycle. A number of options were highlighted including: 1. Sort and separate waste streams to reduce cross contamination of wastes. 2. Substitute persistent compounds, where alternative chemicals, that are less persistent, are currently available. 3. Use best available techniques in production processes 4. Restrict use of PTEs in animal feed by increasing the bioavailability of copper and zinc used, so that less is required. 5. Compost or thermophilic anaerobic digest to reduce some pathogens. 6. Consider the use of legislation to enforce these strategies. 7. Educate the public in the ultimate fate of waste materials and the need to control contaminant inputs. Due to a lack of information in many areas covered in the report, it was not possible to produce definitive answers on the risks of different waste materials to the functioning of land and on how best to manage these. To address this, we therefore suggest that work in the future focuses on the following areas: Consideration of a wider range of contaminant types; Consideration of a wider range of waste materials; Development of risk-based prioritisation schemes to identify contaminants of most concern; Development of a better understanding on the amounts of wastes materials applied to land; Establish the risks to the functioning of land; Study the benefits of different waste types in soil as well as the broader costs of waste material treatments and transport distances; Integrate waste disposal into risk assessment schemes for synthetic substances; Perform a social study on public awareness of waste and where it goes, followed by educational outreach about waste; Promote Green Chemistry for improving processes; and Assess waste mixtures and the best co-digestion practices. The Food and Environment Research Agency v TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Waste in the UK ............................................................................................................................... 2 1.2. Waste Strategy ................................................................................................................................ 3 1.3. Landspreading ................................................................................................................................. 4 1.4. Mechanisms for limiting contamination ......................................................................................... 6 1.5. Aim and objectives .......................................................................................................................... 6 2. APPROACH .................................................................................................................................. 8 2.1. Data used ......................................................................................................................................... 8 2.2. Definition of terms .......................................................................................................................... 8 2.3. Materials considered ..................................................................................................................... 11 2.4. Contaminants ...............................................................................................................................
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