The presence of contaminations in sewage sludge – The current situation

Abstract

Sewage sludge/biosolids are by-wastes of municipal and industrial wastewater treatment. As sources of nutrients (C, N, P) they are widely used in intensive farming where large supplementation of organic matter to maintain fertility and enhance crop yields is needed. However, according to the report of European Commission published in 2010, only 39% of produced sewage sludge is recycled into agriculture in the European Union. This situation occurs mainly due to the fact, that the sewage sludge may contain a dangerous volume of different contaminants. For over decades, a great deal of attention has been focused on total concentration of few heavy metals and pathogenic bacteria Salmonella and Escherichia coli. The Sewage Sludge Directive (86/278/EEC) regulates the allowable limits of Zn, Cu, Ni, Pb, Cd, Cr and Hg and pathogens and allows for recovery of sludge on land under defined sanitary and environmentally sound conditions. In this paper, a review on quality of sewage sludge based on the publications after 2010 has been presented. Nowadays there are several papers focusing on new serious threats to human health and ecosystem occurring in sewage sludge - both chemicals (such as toxic trace elements - Se, Ag, Ti; nanoparticles; polyaromatic hydrocarbons; polychlorinated biphenyl; perfluorinated surfactants, polycyclic musks, siloxanes, pesticides, phenols, sweeteners, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, benzotriazoles) and biological traits (Legionella, Yersinia, Escherichia coli O157:H7).

Irrigation Water Quality—A Contemporary Perspective

“…Pharmaceuticals can enter the water system from various sources, including direct disposal and human excretion into sewers leading to elevated concentrations of pharmaceuticals in wastewater [46]. Pharmaceuticals often detected in sewage sludge include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), blood thinners, psychiatric drugs, antidiuretics and β-blockers [47][48][49]. Plant uptake of a wide variety of pharmaceutical groups like NSAIDs, antihistamine, β-blockers, calcium channel blockers, antiepileptics, steroid hormones, antidepressants, antineoplastic agents, anti-itch compounds, x-ray contrast agents, lipid-lowering agents, benzodiazepines, tranquilizers and veterinary drugs from soil and contaminated water has been observed and studied [50][51][52].…”

Sanitary and environmental aspects of sewage sludge management

“…Generally, four groups of pathogens can be found in sewage sludge: viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi. In fact, due to its very rich organic matter, sewage sludge can include many bacteria and fungi species in large quantities (Fijalkowski et al, 2017). Other organisms such as viruses and parasites are also regularly present in sewage sludge (Frąc et al, 2014).…”

“…In Austria, for example, Galler et al (2018) isolated three multiresistant enterobacteria (extended-spectrum β-lactamase bacteria (ESBL)) from activated sludge: Gram-negative bacilli, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE)). This could pose sanitary problems because of the dispersion of such antibiotic-resistant bacteria through trophic webs and in the environment (Reinthaler et al, 2013;Fijalkowski et al, 2017;Tozzoli et al, 2017).…”

“…Hence, it degrades fast and can cause a sharp peak in the nitrate and pollutant concentration in the soil if applied without pretreatment. The biggest challenge, though, is seen in the contaminants, (1) organic (such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), adsorbable organohalogens (AOX), pesticides, surfactants, hormones, pharmaceuticals) and (2) inorganic (metals and their nanoparticles), and (3) pathogenic species of living organisms for example, bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and parasitic helminths (see review by Fijalkowski et al, 2017).…”

The reuse of biosolids on agricultural land: Critical issues and perspective

“…Biological sludge contains biodegradable and recalcitrant organic compounds, pathogens, heavy metals, and other inorganic constituents. Moreover, it can contain toxic compounds, at potentially harmful levels (Sharma, Sarkar, Singh, & Singh, 2017), for example, due to the presence of industrial wastewater treated by wastewater treatment plants-WWTPs (Collivignarelli, Abbà, Bestetti, Crotti, & Carnevale Miino, 2019), and environmentally persistent chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls and dioxins (Fijalkowski, Rorat, Grobelak, & Kacprzak, 2017;Tervahauta, Rani, Leal, Buisman, & Zeeman, 2014). The treated sludge, called biosolids, can also be considered a source of nutrients and energy, which could be recovered using economically viable approaches (Zhang, Xu, Champagne, & Mabee, 2014).…”