HUMAN HEALTH AND THE
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF USING SEWAGE SLUDGE ON FORESTRY AND FOR
RESTORATION OF DERELICT LAND
Task 4-6: Site
suitability procedures (forestry & land restoration)
UKLQ09
August 2008
Project partners: SNIFFER, SEPA, NIEA, Scottish Government, Forestry
Commission, Health Protection Scotland
Use
of the reports
The technical documents
have been developed through a collaborative project, managed and
facilitated by SNIFFER and has involved the members and partners. They
provide background information, within the confines of the project
brief, to support and inform member organisations and others.
Whilst the documents are
considered to represent the best available scientific information and
expert opinion available to the consultant at the stage of completion
of the report, within the confines of the specification given, they do
not represent the final or policy positions of SNIFFER or any of its
partner agencies, and they recognise that the historic practices
regarding sewage sludge recycling discussed are not current
practice within the UK.
Background to research
Although there is a great deal of research and scientific data on
sewage sludge application to land, much of this relates to modest
application rates on agricultural land. In recent years there
has been a substantial increase in the amount applied to forestry, and
to former opencast coal sites in the UK for purposes of land
restoration. Application rates of sewage sludge have been
considerably higher than traditionally practiced, and sludge has been
applied using different techniques. There is concern that
poorly managed practices could result in risks to human health, water,
air and soil quality and to biodiversity. Public and
political interest is high and this project will address the urgent
need to review this activity and develop decision support systems and
guidelines to ensure that the activities will not affect public health
or adversely affect the environment.
Objectives of research
In detail, the project aims to:
- carry out a detailed desk-based literature review;
- undertake quantitative assessment of sites where sewage
sludge has already been applied;
- develop a site suitability and risk assessment procedure.
The objective of these reports is to fulfil the third aim in relation
to the environmental, ecological and human health effects of spreading
sewage sludge on forestry & land restoration.
Separate reports have been published by SNIFFER covering the first two
aims and the site suitability and risk assessment procedure for sludge
use for land reclamation (Tasks 1 to 3).
Key findings and
recommendations
A two stage system has been developed. The first comprises a site
suitability classification that identifies land that is suitable or
unsuitable for sewage sludge application based on a standard set of
criteria. This stage has been divided into two tiers based on the level
of information required to facilitate decision making. The second stage
comprises a series of recommendations and procedures relating to sludge
application method, rate and timing, that seek to ensure that the
benefits of the sludge are optimized and that environmental quality and
human health are not compromised.
Key words: sewage
sludge, environment, forestry, land restoration water, soil, human
health
Copies of these reports are available from the Foundation:
Site suitability
procedure (forestry) in electronic format on CDRom at
£20.00 + VAT or hard copy at £15.00 less 20% to FWR
members.
Site suitability
procedure (land restoration) in electronic format on CDRom
at £20.00 + VAT or hard copy at £15.00 less 20% to
FWR members.
N.B.
The reports are available for download from the SNIFFER Website
© SNIFFER 2008
All rights reserved. No part of this document may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form
or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise without the prior permission of SNIFFER.