LeonardoDGarden
Member
I'm sure most of you already know, but for those that don't, "Biosolids" that are sometimes sold in compost mixes is a euphemism for "treated sewage sludge". Not good for using to grow your cannabis with at all.
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Warning about "Biosolids" aka Human Shit.
- Thread starter LeonardoDGarden
- Start date
LeonardoDGarden
Member
Which, that biosolids are made from human waste and whatever else gets dumped down the sewers or that it isn't a good idea to play with it?
That biosolids are made from sewer sludge is easy enough to look up and verify online. That it isn't a good idea to play with other people's shit might be considered to be an opinion.
That biosolids are made from sewer sludge is easy enough to look up and verify online. That it isn't a good idea to play with other people's shit might be considered to be an opinion.
LeonardoDGarden
Member
Copied from the US Geological Survey website
Biosolids, the treated sludge generated by the treatment of sewage at wastewater treatment plants, is something that most people don't think about as they flush everyday chemicals and drugs down the drain. However, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists found that biosolids contain relatively high concentrations (hundreds of milligrams per kilogram) of the active ingredients commonly found in a variety of household products and drugs.
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the United States generate approximately
7 million dry tons of biosolids each year. Since biosolids are rich in plant nutrients, farmers, landscapers, and homeowners use about 50 percent of the annual production of biosolids as fertilizer for plants. Biosolids must meet standards for nutrient, metal, and pathogen content before it can be used to fertilize plants and to improve the quality of soil. Because a variety of pharmaceuticals and other household chemicals have been found in the wastewater discharged from WWTPs, questions have been raised about the presence of these chemicals in biosolids. To help answer the questions the scientists purchased or obtained nine different commercially or publicly available biosolids and analyzed them for 87 organic chemicals found in cleaners, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, and other products. They found:
Fifty-five of the 87 organic chemicals measured were detected in at least one of the nine biosolids collected, with as many as 45 chemicals found in a single sample.
Twenty-five of the chemicals were present in every biosolid sample including compounds that are pharmaceutically and hormonally active, such as an antimicrobial disinfectant (triclosan), a musk fragrance (tonalide), an antihistamine (diphenhydramine), and an antiepileptic drug (carbamazepine).
A scientist (now with Colorado State University-Pueblo) preparing samples of biosolids for extraction using accelerated solvent extraction. The samples were analyzed for a broad suite of emerging contaminants.
(Click on photo for larger version)
Total summed concentrations ranged from 64 to 1,811 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg or parts-per-million), with many individual contaminants in the hundreds of mg/kg range.
The biosolids were more similar than they were different, even though they were produced by a variety of treatment processes from plants serving vastly different sized cities and towns. The types of contaminants and their relation to each other did not vary greatly between the biosolids tested.
This is the first comprehensive examination of biosolids, and the results indicate that biosolids have high concentrations of these emerging contaminants compared to treated liquid wastewater effluent. What is not known at present is the transport, fate, and potential ecological effects of these contaminants once biosolids are applied to agricultural fields, garden plots, and landscaped plants and shrubs.
Biosolids, the treated sludge generated by the treatment of sewage at wastewater treatment plants, is something that most people don't think about as they flush everyday chemicals and drugs down the drain. However, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists found that biosolids contain relatively high concentrations (hundreds of milligrams per kilogram) of the active ingredients commonly found in a variety of household products and drugs.
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the United States generate approximately
7 million dry tons of biosolids each year. Since biosolids are rich in plant nutrients, farmers, landscapers, and homeowners use about 50 percent of the annual production of biosolids as fertilizer for plants. Biosolids must meet standards for nutrient, metal, and pathogen content before it can be used to fertilize plants and to improve the quality of soil. Because a variety of pharmaceuticals and other household chemicals have been found in the wastewater discharged from WWTPs, questions have been raised about the presence of these chemicals in biosolids. To help answer the questions the scientists purchased or obtained nine different commercially or publicly available biosolids and analyzed them for 87 organic chemicals found in cleaners, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, and other products. They found:
Fifty-five of the 87 organic chemicals measured were detected in at least one of the nine biosolids collected, with as many as 45 chemicals found in a single sample.
Twenty-five of the chemicals were present in every biosolid sample including compounds that are pharmaceutically and hormonally active, such as an antimicrobial disinfectant (triclosan), a musk fragrance (tonalide), an antihistamine (diphenhydramine), and an antiepileptic drug (carbamazepine).
A scientist (now with Colorado State University-Pueblo) preparing samples of biosolids for extraction using accelerated solvent extraction. The samples were analyzed for a broad suite of emerging contaminants.
(Click on photo for larger version)
Total summed concentrations ranged from 64 to 1,811 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg or parts-per-million), with many individual contaminants in the hundreds of mg/kg range.
The biosolids were more similar than they were different, even though they were produced by a variety of treatment processes from plants serving vastly different sized cities and towns. The types of contaminants and their relation to each other did not vary greatly between the biosolids tested.
This is the first comprehensive examination of biosolids, and the results indicate that biosolids have high concentrations of these emerging contaminants compared to treated liquid wastewater effluent. What is not known at present is the transport, fate, and potential ecological effects of these contaminants once biosolids are applied to agricultural fields, garden plots, and landscaped plants and shrubs.
That shit rocks! Couldn't help myself.
Have spread and ploughed in sewage sludge on the fields for decades , sat for 20+ years in a huge pit , used without further treatment in bulk , free of charge to collect with certain provisos concerning root crops in the following years.
Traditionaly the concern has been around heavy metal contaminants like cadmium and mercury, hormone traces and similar are of recent concern with no clear advice from DEFRA .
Slurry from pigs and cattle is just as bad in this respect , and more likely to be in the product than human sewage.
Fresh material rotted with green waste is being promoted by local treatment works , but i would personally limit its use to ornamentals and certainly avoid salad crops , and wear gloves with any compost product.
Traditionaly the concern has been around heavy metal contaminants like cadmium and mercury, hormone traces and similar are of recent concern with no clear advice from DEFRA .
Slurry from pigs and cattle is just as bad in this respect , and more likely to be in the product than human sewage.
Fresh material rotted with green waste is being promoted by local treatment works , but i would personally limit its use to ornamentals and certainly avoid salad crops , and wear gloves with any compost product.
MelloYello
Active member
Wear gloves. I got an E.coli infection last spring. Not very pleasant. Where did it come from? A lot of tests and they still can't tell me, and I couldn't tell you as the effects from the E.coli fogged my brain for months.
I suspect either from gardening or a salad I ate..
I suspect either from gardening or a salad I ate..
Remember an old lady loseing a hand to some flesh eating bacteria and compost was probably the cause , a provable route for Tetanus , and have found needles and shredded condoms in the cheap stuff along with viable knotweed roots and a dead mouse.
When all composts were peat based i used to mix with bare hands , the modern ones with reduced peat seem to throw any old crap in there includeing sharp wood chipped pallets and recycled materials.
When all composts were peat based i used to mix with bare hands , the modern ones with reduced peat seem to throw any old crap in there includeing sharp wood chipped pallets and recycled materials.
Good Post, I'v e often wondered if shit can have a neg. affect on Mj plants
KnifeWrench
Member
compost toilets are king. i volunteered at a farm that used those and they had the best buds, fruits, and vegetables i've ever had the pleasure of consuming... changed my life
human shit is king.... what's being referred to in this thread as biosolids imo should not be considered shit. the same way city water isn't actually water(at least to me it's not)
human shit is king.... what's being referred to in this thread as biosolids imo should not be considered shit. the same way city water isn't actually water(at least to me it's not)
LeonardoDGarden
Member
"Biosolids" is the name they came up with for it, and how they market it, so that's the name I used. I find it distressing that it is allowed for use in food and consumable production, when they don't even know the long term effects of using on trees and ornamentals.
Right now my compost is entirely plant based, because I make it at home and don't have any farm animals. But in the past I've used mature farm animal composts and guanos in the past, and as long as it is actually matured I see no reason not to. There are some risks involved, so I'd call it a personal preference thing, and I won't claim anyone that disagrees with this practice is wrong.
I don't care for homemade compost with human fecal matter, but as long as the source people are healthy, unmedicated by pharmaceuticals etc, and proper procedures are followed, I've heard it can be done safely, also a personal preference thing, and I won't argue with anyone that has a different opinion.
But taking sludge out of city sewers, and heat treating it (or whatever) and then calling it "compost" or "biosolids" to sell to unwitting consumers is a bit too far. Neither I, nor my plants have epilepsy, so keep the medication for it away from us. My garden is no place to sequester toxins in, whether or not I can prove that it is a bad idea, so don't go trying to trick me into storing your toxic chemical waste in it.
