Hello there
This question opens a can of worms as to whom is telling the truth,
when are they telling the truth, and have they ever told the truth.
There are of course claims made by the sewage treatment industry both
municipal and for private septic systems ranging from the water that
leaves the system is so pure you can drink it without further
treatment to claims that commercial sewage treatment systems are
poisoning us all.
Over the next paragraphs I will try to present cases and material
supporting both views and I am very much afraid after it is all done,
you will still have to do some decision making on your own.
After you flush your toilet, regardless of whether you are on an urban
sewer system or a septic system, after some of the water is removed,
you will have "sludge." Now what happens to that sludge is where the
stories begin to separate. Basic sludge is about the only thing the
various treatment systems have in common.
Now, we split the story even more. If you have a backyard septic
system, sludge is about all you have to worry about and I will cover
that as a separate entry. However, if you are on a municipal system,
the toilet sludge is only part of the story. Many other forms of
contamination enter the picture. If you have a weak stomach, you may
want to stop reading now.
The "sludge" mixture in an urban sanitary sewer line can contain
everything from dangerous chemicals such as dioxins from small service
industries such as dry-cleaners and even doing your own laundry
(dioxins become part of the fabric during the 'finishing process')
human blood and other body fluids (mortuaries do connect to the lines
and they do use them to dispose of liquid waste during the embalming
process), industrial chemicals, even radioactive materials are part of
the mix. - - "Radioactive materials are sometimes discharged into
municipal sewer systems by hospitals, decontamination laundries,
research facilities, and manufacturers licensed by the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC). NRC regulations fall short, however, in
controlling low-level radioactive wastes being discharged into
municipal sewer systems, possibly putting treatment plant workers,
plant property, and the general public at risk. During the past
decade, at least nine cases of radioactive contamination of sewage
sludge have occurred at treatment plants." - quote from EJnet.org -
"Nuclear Regulation: Action Needed to Control Radioactive
Contamination at Sewage Treatment Plants"
http://www.ejnet.org/sludge/radioactivity/gao_radsludge.txt
Do you want to know what is being dumped into the sludge in your
particular area? Then you can use this database from the EPA. Make
sure to switch "Type of Transfer" to "POTW" (Publicly Owned Treatment
Works = Sewage Treatment Plant). Then put in the county and state and
run the query. Go back and try it again if you need to narrow the
search down to a specific facility (caution: facility names may be
misspelled).
http://www.rtknet.org/tri/off.php - From rtknet.org
You specify - "The basic health issue is our drinking water and
specifically the ocean, where the sewage is dumped."
I am very glad you did not limit the question to a particular country
because what is happening elsewhere in the world comes into play of
necessity. And even a general answer to your question needs to
include not only what happens to water after it leaves the toilet, it
also needs to include related information from those who do not have a
toilet to flush.
By the year 2000 there were 23 cities in the world with populations in
excess of 10 million people. Eighteen of these cities are in the
"developing world."
You may find this report from Akhtar Hameed Khan writen for UNICEF to
be of interest. It begins with "On the brink of the 21st century,
half the world?s people are enduring a medieval level of sanitation.
Almost 3 billion individuals do not have access to a decent toilet,
and many of them are forced to defecate on the bare ground or queue up
to pay for the use of a filthy latrine. This unconscionable
degradation continues despite a fundamental truth: Access to safe
water and adequate sanitation is the foundation of development. For
when you have a medieval level of sanitation, you have a medieval
level of disease, and no country can advance without a healthy
population."
http://www.ejnet.org/sludge/water.html
"To deny people basic sanitation is not just inhumane?it also kicks
the first step out from a country?s ladder of development. History has
taught that a safe means to dispose of bodily wastes is not a luxury
that can wait for better economic times but a key element in creating
them." - from the same report.
And of course the discharge from these areas eventually makes its way
into the streams and rivers and ultimately to the oceans.
Now, back to your basic question.
This from the National Council for Science and the Environment:
"Waste discharges from municipal sewage treatment plants are a
significant source of water quality problems throughout the country.
States report that municipal discharges are the second leading source
of water quality impairment in all of the nation's waters (rivers and
streams, lakes, and estuaries and coastal waters). Pollutants
associated with municipal discharges include nutrients (which can
stimulate growth of algae that deplete dissolved oxygen which is
essential for aquatic ecosystems, since most fish and other aquatic
organisms "breathe" oxygen dissolved in the water column), bacteria
and other pathogens (which may impair drinking water supplies and
recreation uses), as well as metals and toxic chemicals from
industrial and commercial activities and households." - - This report
deals with the Clean Water Act and what is being done or not being
done to implement it.
http://www.ncseonline.org/NLE/CRSreports/water/h2o-29.cfm?&CFID=13633240&CFTOKEN=35810771
This article explains the difference between the "public promise" of
sanitary systems and the reality. You have every right to be
concerned about the environment and what happens after you flush the
toilet.
"The Sludge Hits the Fan" - Chapter 8 of the book "Toxic Sludge is
Good for You! -- Lies Damn Lies and the Public Relations" by John
Stauber and Sheldon Rampton of the Center for Media and Democracy
You may want to read it carefully since much of the answer you are
looking for is found there and if I try to paraphrase it to reproduce
here, I would likely destroy the suthor's original meaning. So read
it as is and consider it an integral part of this answer. The section
called "A Brief History of Slime" may open your eyes. It includes the
following statement: "Over 60,000 toxic substances and chemical
compounds can be found in sewage sludge, and scientists are developing
700 to 1,000 new chemicals per year." -
http://www.ejnet.org/sludge/sludge.html
And just as an additional note on the above, as dangerous as sludge
is, A July 1997 Seattle Times investigation by Duff Wilson found that,
across the nation, industrial wastes laden with heavy metals and other
dangerous materials are being used in fertilizers and spread over
farmland. The process, which is legal, saves dirty industries the high
costs of disposing of hazardous wastes.
That in itself may be one of the worst uses for what you flush down
the toilet. (just a personal opinion)
You will find much more here: "Sewage Sludge Homepage"
http://www.ejnet.org/sludge/#fertilizer
Now, I did say I would give you both sides of the picture. Here is
the "official one" from The United States Environmental Protection
Agency?s Office of Wastewater Management.
http://www.epa.gov/owm/
As I have put together this answer, I am more glad than ever that I
live in a rural area and have my own septic system. At least I know
what goes into it and where it goes. The "pollution" from a toilet
flush can be rendered rather harmless through simple biological means.
It is all the rest of the c**p that is added later in commercial
treatment programs that cause the major problems.
As for the first part of your question: "What type of health promotion
message can I use, which encourages positive behavior choices
concerning waste water disposal?"
How about - "Adequate and safe sanitation is the foundation of all development?"
I also realize I may have misinterpreted your question completely. As
I mentioned in the request for clarification, it is a huge subject and
I could have gone off in a hundred directions at once.
If I have done so, please let me know and we'll start again.
Search - Google
Terms - wastewater treatment, sewage treatment, environmental effects
of waste water treatment
If I may clarify anything before you rate the answer, please ask.
Cheers
Digsalot
P.S. The New York/New Jersey region has ceased oceanic dumping of
sewage. Let's hope that practice spreads. |
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