Consumer Over-Use of Antibacterial Soaps Contaminates Useful Wastewater Sludge
April 26, 2006

Though many people outside the agricultural Midwest aren't aware of it, much of the solid material collected in municipal wastewater treatment is treated through a process called anaerobic digestion and then delivered to farmers for use as fertilizer. It's ordinarily a highly efficient and perfectly logical way to dispose of organic matter, since anaerobic digestion kills any pathogens that may be present. But a new study says that the active ingredient in antibacterial soaps stays in the treated sludge and is being applied to croplands in heavy concentrations. It's a public-health risk, since the abuse of "anti-bacterial" products probably encourages the formation of drug-resistant pathogens.

Related products: sludge and slurry pumps, lagoon liners, anaerobic digestion, products for the farm, products for municipal wastewater treatment

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last revised 4.2006