- Email: [email protected]
Disposal of sewage sludge
The Marine Pollution B u l l e t i n is published monthly and sets out to cover all aspects of the fight for the life of lakes, estuaries, seas and oceans. It includes news, comment, reviews and research reports not only on the threats of noxious substances to marine life but also on the management and productivity of the marine environment in general. It publishes accounts of new and proposed research programmes as well as the results of those in progress.
Contributions may be in the form of short notes not exceeding 650 words or articles of 1500-2000 words and should be submitted to the editor in double-spaced typescript. They should be given a short one-line title and the text should be broken by short sub-headings. All measurements must be given in metric (S.I.) units. Reprints of articles can be supplied after publication and an order form for them is sent to contributors. Bulk orders of copies of the entire issue in which an article appears can be supplied at a reduced rate to the author, provided they are ordered in advance of publication.
Edited by: Professor R. B. Clark, Department of Zoology, The University, Newcastle upon Tyne, England NE1 7RU. Marine Pollution Bulletin is published by Macmillan Journals Ltd., 4 Little Essex Street, London WC2R 3LF. Annual subscription £6.00 (£7.50 USA and Canada). (Payment may be made in any currency at the current exchange rate. Orders must be accompanied by remittance. Prices applicable only to subscriptions started before 31st December, 1974.) Cheques should be made payable to Macmillan Journals Ltd., Subscription Department, Brunel Road, Basingstoke, Hants. RG21 2XS, England.
origin of the ores, but when sulphurio acid is used a typical composition of the waste would be as shown in Table 2. It is the neutralization of the waste at sea and the subsequent oxidation of the precipitated ferrous iron to ferric iron that gives the waste its brown colour. We feel that if this distinction were made early in the discussions concerning the disposal of such wastes at sea then much confusion would be avoided.
Cook College, Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA, on May 21-22. In this, the third of a series of meetings jointly sponsored by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Environmental Science, Rutgers University, the topics for discussion were related entirely to sewage sludge. Sixteen papers were presented, largely dealing with US experience. The first day was given over to the various methods of treating sewage sludge so as to give a product of minimum volume and/or high stability. A number of papers dealt with the incineration of sewage sludges and the problems arising from air pollution control standards. In terms of energy consumed, primary sludge was the most efficient sludge to incinerate because of its high calorific value; even so, a residue remained. The problem of metals present in sewage sludge was also discussed and the levels in US sludge compared with those in North Europe. The second day dealt with ocean disposal of sewage sludge and, although it was primarily devoted to US activities, there was one paper on U K experience and practice in the field. Other papers in this session dealt with US regulations on ocean disposal, particularly in relation to the New York Bight area which has been seriously affected by sludge disposal. Recent allegations that the sludge reached Long Island beaches were however shown to be ill-founded. A paper describing the results of work on sewage sludge decomposition in sea water under both laboratory and field conditions indicated that a pressure effect needs to be considered even in relatively shallow depths. Other papers discussed the need for bio-assays in relation to ocean dumping and the results of recent investigations around the Santa Barbara sludge outfall. In this case it appears that the effects on marine life are minimal, compared with those observed on the US coast east, Photographs of the sea-bed adjacent to the end of the pipe and of the area on and around the pipe indicated a rich and varied fauna. A recently developed mathematical model related to short-term dispersion was described. This permits a wide variety of input variables and appears to have great potential for the prediction of the behaviour of sewage sludge soon after release from a vessel. The symposium was well organized and some stimulating discussions resulted. The proceedings will be published and are expected to be available from the EPA in autumn, 1974. J o E. PORTMANN
K. W. WILSON R. A. A. BLACKMAN
Fisheries Laboratory, Marine Pollution Unit, Burnham on Crouch, Essex, U.K.
Correction In the paper by G. Stora, 'Computation of Lethal Concentrations', 5(5): 69-71, the formula of the variance should read:
Disposal of Sewage Sludge A two-day Symposium on the Pretreatment and Ultimate Disposal of Waste Water Solids was held at 128
1 2
1
(y
y,)2
1
Contributions may be in the form of short notes not exceeding 650 words or articles of 1500-2000 words and should be submitted to the editor in double-spaced typescript. They should be given a short one-line title and the text should be broken by short sub-headings. All measurements must be given in metric (S.I.) units. Reprints of articles can be supplied after publication and an order form for them is sent to contributors. Bulk orders of copies of the entire issue in which an article appears can be supplied at a reduced rate to the author, provided they are ordered in advance of publication.
Edited by: Professor R. B. Clark, Department of Zoology, The University, Newcastle upon Tyne, England NE1 7RU. Marine Pollution Bulletin is published by Macmillan Journals Ltd., 4 Little Essex Street, London WC2R 3LF. Annual subscription £6.00 (£7.50 USA and Canada). (Payment may be made in any currency at the current exchange rate. Orders must be accompanied by remittance. Prices applicable only to subscriptions started before 31st December, 1974.) Cheques should be made payable to Macmillan Journals Ltd., Subscription Department, Brunel Road, Basingstoke, Hants. RG21 2XS, England.
origin of the ores, but when sulphurio acid is used a typical composition of the waste would be as shown in Table 2. It is the neutralization of the waste at sea and the subsequent oxidation of the precipitated ferrous iron to ferric iron that gives the waste its brown colour. We feel that if this distinction were made early in the discussions concerning the disposal of such wastes at sea then much confusion would be avoided.
Cook College, Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA, on May 21-22. In this, the third of a series of meetings jointly sponsored by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Environmental Science, Rutgers University, the topics for discussion were related entirely to sewage sludge. Sixteen papers were presented, largely dealing with US experience. The first day was given over to the various methods of treating sewage sludge so as to give a product of minimum volume and/or high stability. A number of papers dealt with the incineration of sewage sludges and the problems arising from air pollution control standards. In terms of energy consumed, primary sludge was the most efficient sludge to incinerate because of its high calorific value; even so, a residue remained. The problem of metals present in sewage sludge was also discussed and the levels in US sludge compared with those in North Europe. The second day dealt with ocean disposal of sewage sludge and, although it was primarily devoted to US activities, there was one paper on U K experience and practice in the field. Other papers in this session dealt with US regulations on ocean disposal, particularly in relation to the New York Bight area which has been seriously affected by sludge disposal. Recent allegations that the sludge reached Long Island beaches were however shown to be ill-founded. A paper describing the results of work on sewage sludge decomposition in sea water under both laboratory and field conditions indicated that a pressure effect needs to be considered even in relatively shallow depths. Other papers discussed the need for bio-assays in relation to ocean dumping and the results of recent investigations around the Santa Barbara sludge outfall. In this case it appears that the effects on marine life are minimal, compared with those observed on the US coast east, Photographs of the sea-bed adjacent to the end of the pipe and of the area on and around the pipe indicated a rich and varied fauna. A recently developed mathematical model related to short-term dispersion was described. This permits a wide variety of input variables and appears to have great potential for the prediction of the behaviour of sewage sludge soon after release from a vessel. The symposium was well organized and some stimulating discussions resulted. The proceedings will be published and are expected to be available from the EPA in autumn, 1974. J o E. PORTMANN
K. W. WILSON R. A. A. BLACKMAN
Fisheries Laboratory, Marine Pollution Unit, Burnham on Crouch, Essex, U.K.
Correction In the paper by G. Stora, 'Computation of Lethal Concentrations', 5(5): 69-71, the formula of the variance should read:
Disposal of Sewage Sludge A two-day Symposium on the Pretreatment and Ultimate Disposal of Waste Water Solids was held at 128
1 2
1
(y
y,)2
1