Review of municipal sludge use as a soil amendment on disturbed lands

Technical Report · Wed Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1990

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6941548· OSTI ID:6941548

Brandt, C. A.; Hendrickson, P. L.

The US Department of Energy is examining options of improving soil conditions at Hanford reclamation sites. One promising technology is the incorporation of municipal sewage sludge into the soil profile. This report reviews the potential benefits and adverse consequences of sludge use in land reclamation. Land reclamation comprises those activities instigated to return a mechanically disturbed site to some later successional state. Besides the introduction of suitable plant species to disturbed lands, reclamation generally requires measures to enhance long-term soil nutrient content, moisture retention or drainage, and mitigation of toxic effects from metals and pH. One of the more effective means of remediating adverse soil characteristics is the application of complex organic manures such as municipal sewage sludge. Sewage sludges contain complete macro- and micronutrients necessary to sustain plant growth. The application of sewage sludge may reestablish microbial activity in sterile soils. Physical properties, such as water-holding capacity and percentage water-stable aggregates, also improve with the addition of sewage sludge. Sludge applications may also increase the rate of degradation of some hydrocarbon pollutants in soils. Potential adverse impacts associated with the application of sewage sludge to land include negative public perception of human waste products; concerns regarding pathogen buildup and spread in the soils, plants, and water; entrance and accumulation of heavy metals in the food chain; salt accumulation in the soil and ground water; leaching of nitrates into ground water; and accumulation of other potentially toxic substances, such as boron and synthetic hydrocarbons, in the soil, plants, and food chain. 56 refs., 10 tabs.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/RW
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 6941548
• Report Number(s): PNL-7425; ON: DE90015835
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320604 -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Municipalities & Community Systems-- Municipal Waste Management-- (1980-)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540220 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
540250* -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Site Resource & Use Studies-- (1990-)
AROMATICS
BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION
CHLORINATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FOOD CHAINS
GROWTH
HALOGENATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
HANFORD RESERVATION
LAND RECLAMATION
MANAGEMENT
METALS
MICROORGANISMS
MUNICIPAL WASTES
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
OPTIMIZATION
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
PATHOGENS
PH VALUE
PLANT GROWTH
PUBLIC OPINION
REGULATIONS
SEWAGE
SEWAGE SLUDGE
SLUDGES
SOILS
TOXICITY
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES