Biosolids in Western Canada: A Case Study on Public Risk Perception and Factors Influencing Public Attitudes

Whitehouse, Sarah; Tsigaris, Panagiotis; Wood, Joel; Fraser, Lauchlan H.

doi:10.1007/s00267-021-01540-4

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Previous work has also shown that male farmers have a more positive attitude towards eating food fertilized with sewage sludge compared to female farmers [61] and have a more positive perception of wastewater for vegetable irrigation [62]. Most directly, a recent survey on biosolids' public risk perception found a higher risk perception from females than males [35]. In contrast, a scoping review examining perceptions of agricultural use of human waste and waste-derived products found gender an inconclusive predictor, due to contextual and methodological differences between studies [63].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is in part because biosolid land application relies on public acceptance of key issues around its health, safety and environmental impacts. For example, public risk perception of biosolids in western Canada has been shown to be significantly affected by the gender and level of education of respondents, women generally identifying significantly higher health and safety risks of biosolids use [35]. In Sweden, stakeholders, whether or not involved in sewage sludge management, highlighted the disgust or unappealing image that is associated with sewage [36].…”

Section: Definitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Public Perceptions of Faecal Sludge Biochar and Biosolids Use in Agriculture

2022

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Full-scale pyrolysis of faecal sludge is a credible technology for the safe removal of pathogens and the concurrent creation of biochar, which has been shown to enhance crop productivity. Faecal sludge biochar has the potential to improve acidic, low nutrient soils and crop yield in developing nations more at risk of climate change and food insecurity. Little research has been conducted into public acceptance of faecal sludge biochar as a soil enhancer in agriculture. In this study of the public in Swansea, Wales, an online survey examines their awareness of, and comfort levels of eating food grown using biosolids, wood biochar and faecal sludge biochar. Our findings show that males were almost twice as likely than females to have a positive perception of biosolids (OR 1.91, p value 0.004) and faecal sludge biochar (OR 2.02, p value 0.03). Those in the oldest age group (65+) were almost five times more likely to have a positive view of faecal sludge biochar than the youngest age group (OR 4.88, p value 0.001). Deployment of faecal sludge biochar must overcome a “disgust effect” related to its human faecal origins. This factor must be centrally taken into account when implementing management and policy decisions regarding the land application of biosolids and faecal sludge biochar.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Definitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public Perceptions of Faecal Sludge Biochar and Biosolids Use in Agriculture

2022

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“…During the last decades, a new concern has arisen regarding the critical role of the food chain played in the transmission of ARB to humans (Greig et al, 2015;Bennani et al, 2020;Panel, et al, 2021), since food can be easily contaminated by ARGs and/or ARB derived from different environmental sources including agriculture (Law et al, 2021;Zielinski et al, 2021). Biosolids, nutrient-rich organic fertilizer, and soil conditioner, obtained from the solid effluents after municipal wastewater treatment, have been considered as an alternative source of nutrients to chemical fertilizer and have been widely and directly applied to land, including forestry and farmland, in almost every province in Canada and throughout the United States (Lu et al, 2012;Egan, 2013;Mason-Renton and Luginaah, 2016;Whitehouse et al, 2022). Canadian agricultural industries spend around $3 billion on fertilizers and supplements, and some of these fertilizers contain biosolids produced by wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) (CFPF, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, in Ontario, Canada, chemical disinfectants and UV irradiation are commonly used for disinfection (Ontario, G.O., 2019). Therefore, biosolids are generally considered safe for agriculture use (Gerba and Pepper, 2009;Egan, 2013;Brooks et al, 2015;Al-Gheethi et al, 2018;Whitehouse et al, 2022). However, it is shown that some pathogenic bacteria could still survive these processes and end up in biosolid-amended soils (Alam et al, 2007;Viau and Peccia, 2009a;Duceppe et al, 2019), some of which, including Listeria monocytogenes (Al-Ghazali and Al- Azawi, 1990) and Staphylococcus aureus (Lewis and Gattie, 2002) contaminate crops and environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antibiotic resistomes and microbial communities in biosolid fertilizers collected from two Canadian wastewater treatment plants in a 10-years interval-potential risks to food chains?

Kang

Naushad

Hartke

et al. 2022

Front. Food. Sci. Technol.

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Dissemination of microorganisms with antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) through the food chain has been recognized as a growing public health concern worldwide. Biosolids, a product of wastewater treatment process, have been used as fertilizers in agriculture globally and have also been considered as a potential source of pathogens and ARGs for horizontal transfer across various environments. This study characterized antibiotic resistomes and microbiota in 24 biosolids samples collected from two Canadian waste water treatment plants in different cities in 2009 and 2019. The ARGs were detected using a qPCR array kit, and microbiota was analyzed using 16S ribosomal RNA gene amplicon sequencing. Furthermore, correlation analysis of ARG abundance and bacterial genera abundance was explored to predict potential hosts of ARGs. Seventy-one of 84 ARGs were detected in at least one or more samples with 12 ARGs being detected in all samples. Antibiotic resistomes did not show a statistically significant distinction between different collection years, sites, or year and site combined in principle coordinate analysis. The microbiota communities were significantly different between samples collected in different years, sites, or year and site combined. In total 34 phyla were detected with 13 genera among the top three phyla were typically related to the human gut microbiota and seven of them showing strong correlation with ARGs related to aminoglycoside and beta-lactam resistance. This study provides valuable baseline information and consistent trend on ARGs and bacterial communities in biosolid fertilizers in Canada, indicating that the biosolid fertilizer could potentially be a source of ARGs in the agricultural soils and may leading to potential contamination of plant-based food chains.

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“…recently, COVID-19 (Dryhurst et al, 2020). Most directly, a recent survey on biosolids' public risk perception concluded that there was a higher risk perception from females (Whitehouse et al, 2022). Generally, a key policy challenge is thus not only to get men more interested in the whole biosolids topic (noted above) but also to make women more positive about biosolids and biochar.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Properties, agronomic uses and public perceptions of faecal sludge biochar

Nicholas

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Since 2000 the proportion of the population in low and middle- income nations that use “unimproved” sanitation facilities is increasing, in 2020 3.5 billion people lacked access to safely managed sanitation facilities. Inadequate sanitation facilities and lack of clean water are key factors in the contraction of diarrheal disease which is responsible for the deaths of approximately 525,000 children every year (WHO, 2017).Faecal sludge collected from on-site sanitation facilities is often dumped into the local environment or reused untreated on farmland. The recycling and re-use of faecal sludge can improve sanitation in developing nations as well as playing a pivotal role in the development of a circular economy within the agriculture industry. Here, biochars derived from faecal sludge were characterized with regards to a potential end-use in agriculture. All faecal sludge biochars were found to have high ash content which contributed to the high pH values measured. All biochars recorded relatively low carbon content and BET porosimetry indicated low specific surface areas. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed similar organic surface groups for each biochar. X-ray diffraction analysis differed slightly between biochars, but all displayed a high mineral content (Si, Ca, K and Mg).Faecal sludge biochar was investigated as a soil amendment/fertilizer with acidic soil in two experiments; one conducted in an outdoor greenhouse in natural sunlight and one in a controlled temperature laboratory under a 24-hour photoperiod. It was found that faecal sludge biochar addition to acidic soil increased crop yield, fruit number, plant height and plant biomass and also reduced water runoff in Micro-Tom tomatoes. A combined biochar and fertilizer treatment together produced plants with greater plant height, and tomato yield. The high pH biochar initiated a liming effect which increased nutrient availability as evident in the combined biochar and fertilizer treatment. Under continuous light conditions biochar addition increased plant height, and tomato yield compared to control. However, biochar addition resulted in greater continuous light-induced leaf injury compared to the combined biochar and fertilizer treatment. The combined fertilizer and biochar treatment with a lower rate of biochar plus the addition of nutrients significantly reduced continuous light-induced leaf injury.A survey investigating the public perception of biochar as a soil enhancer in agriculture focusing on faecal sludge derived biochar was conducted. This revealed the “disgust effect” – a “squeamishness” associated with the use of faecal sludge biochar by members of the public. Also, gender differences, issue awareness, and age need to be taken into consideration when enforcing management and policy decisions regarding the land application of faecal sludge biochar.

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Biosolids in Western Canada: A Case Study on Public Risk Perception and Factors Influencing Public Attitudes

Cited by 6 publications

References 30 publications

Public Perceptions of Faecal Sludge Biochar and Biosolids Use in Agriculture

Public Perceptions of Faecal Sludge Biochar and Biosolids Use in Agriculture

Antibiotic resistomes and microbial communities in biosolid fertilizers collected from two Canadian wastewater treatment plants in a 10-years interval-potential risks to food chains?

Properties, agronomic uses and public perceptions of faecal sludge biochar

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