> I problem is, so I've learned, that there are zero regulations of what
> can be in potting and top soils and fertilizers in the U.S.
All pottingsoil AND soil used for re-covering low sites on which plants
are grown are regulated in the Netherlands and have a certification.
Allthough it is possible to use non-certified pottingsoil it is strongly
advised to be very carefull.
This makes it easy for anyone ordering soil.
If heavy metals in pottingsoil are found in for instance Germany (exported
plants from Holland) there will be (export) trouble.
If anyone uses polluted soil they will have to pay the clean-up costs
themselves. This makes farmers very carefull.
All sludge from sewagetreathment and from canals or rivers is always
tested first, than classified and decided what to do with it.
Sludge from rivers or sewage is never used on open land.
Frits v/d Laan
Biologische boomkwekerij/
Organic horticulture
Gouda - Netherlands
http://web.inter.nl.net/users/F.vd.Laan/
f.vd.laan@inter.nl.net
Frits shared with us important information about practices in the
Netherlands. It makes you wonder why our lives and health are worth
less in the United States.
For example, under proposed regulations, the United States Department of
Agriculture is allowing sewage sludge from municipal waste treatment
plants to be spread on organic agriculture (perhaps, to kill a growing
organic foods industry). http://web.iquest.net/ofma/
http://web.iquest.net/ofma/ltr.htm reads: ''The Department usurped the
National Organic Standards Board's responsibilities and powers to limit
USDA consideration of allowed and prohibited substances for inclusion on
the National List by adding never considered active synthetic substances
in farming and by adding NOSB rejected substances like "ionizing
radiation," "biosolids" (sewage sludge) and GMOs to the Proposed
National List.''
National List:Sec. 205.22, 205.24 and 205.26
Violates the authority and role mandated by OFPA, Section 2104(c) and
2118(d)(1) and (2), 2119(a), (k), (1) and (2), (L).
This is unacceptable and should be opposed.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations does not even come
close to those in the Netherlands, regarding sewage sludge.
In the paper issue of the newsletter, Waste Not #241, a publication of
Work on Waste, USA, there is a chart which was originally published in
Composting Frontiers, Spring 1993, page 23.
The chart compares the United States, Dutch, German and Canadian Compost
Quality Standards mg/kg dry weight. (I have neither computer skills nor
software--but here are some comparisons.)
Standards for U.S. Clean Water Act [CWA] 503 High Quality Sludges/Sludge
Composts:
Arsenic 41
Cadmium 39
Chromium 1200
Copper 1500
Lead 300
Mercury 17
Molybdenum 18
Nickel 420
Selenium 100
Zinc 2800
US CWA Ceiling Concentrations
Arsenic 75
Cadmium 85
Chromium 3000
Copper 4300
Lead 800
Mercury 57
Molybdenum 75
Nickel 420
Selenium 100
Zinc 7500
Of most states that have compost regulations, several allow higher
levels for lead and one higher levels of selenium in compost. But the
rest have lower (i.e., sticter standards) than the US EPA, one of the
agencies that protect corporate welfare rather than public health in the
United States.
In comparing compost Very Clean Compost Sludge
after January 1, 1995 ------->
in the NETHERLANDS:
Arsenic 15 5 15
Cadmium 1 0.7 1.25
Chromium 50 50 350
Copper 60 25 75
Lead 100 65 100
Mercury 0.3 0.2 0.75
Molybdneum --
Nickel 20 10 30.0
Selenium --
Zinc 200 75 300
GERMAN COMPOST & SLUDGE QUALITY STANDARDS
Compost Sludge
Arsenic -- ---
Cadmium 1.5 1 - 1.5
Chromium 100.0 10.0
Copper 100.0 6.0
Lead 150.0 100.0
Mercury 1.0 1.0
Molybdneum ---- ----
Nickel 50 5.0
Selenium --- ----
Zinc 400 150-200
EVEN THE CANADIAN COMPOST STANDARDS ARE STRONGER THAN THE U.S.
National Guideline on Compost
Arsenic 13.0
Cadmium 2.6
Chromium 210.0
Copper 6.0
Lead 83.0
Mercury 0.83
Moly 7.0
Nickel 32.0
Selenium 2.6
Zinc 315.0
(the online version, which does not have the chart is at:
Http://ecologia.nier.org/english/level1/wastenots/wn241.htm )
For more information, contact: Composting Frontiers, 19 Girard Place,
Maplewood, New Jersey 07040-3107. Tel: 201-762-4912. Fax: 201-761-5415.
These proposed USDA regulations for organic agriculture in the U.S. and
the allowances that toxic sewage sludge with weak regulations be spread
on U.S. soils. This makes one wonder why the health of the American
children, the farming community, and the environment are worth less here
than it is in other countries. Maybe, it's the way we allow
corporations to run our Congress and the White House in the United
States. Maybe, it's because people don't take the time to write
letters, send a FAX and oppose the proposed regulations. For more
information, see: http://web.iquest.net/ofma/
Susan Snow
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