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PATHOGEN REDUCTION STUDIES IN EPA'S (ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY'S) SLUDGE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
Citation:
Farrell, J. PATHOGEN REDUCTION STUDIES IN EPA'S (ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY'S) SLUDGE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/D-84/220 (NTIS PB84245430), 1984.
Description:
Since about 1976, EPA's Sludge Management Program has devoted a substantial portion of its resources towards evaluating existing and new sludge stabilization processes for their ability to reduce or eliminate pathogens. This presentation reviews the nature and extent of these efforts and the plans for future work. Early efforts concentrated on processes that produce a disinfected sludge, such as thermophilic aerobic and anaerobic digestion and composting. Chemical treatment processes such as liming to pH 12 proved to be less effective than thermal processes because they did not eliminate the eggs of certain intestinal worms (e.g., Ascaris, Toxacara) which were found to be ubiquitous in sludges. Criteria for limiting potential adverse effects from pathogens in sludge applied to land, published in September 1979 (see 40 CFR, Part 257), recognized the different capabilities of processes for reducing pathogens; process conditions to produce the desired reductions were drawn from the above work and are published in the criteria. Future work will include support for further development of EPA's regulations and guidance related to sludge management, to upgrading in a cost-effective fashion processes that reduce or eliminate pathogens in sludge, and investigation of low technology means to disinfect sludge.