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Pulp Mill Sludge
by author Lucretia Schanfarber

For most of us, the thought of eating food grown in pulp sludge is unappetizing. But the pulp mill industry and the British Columbia Ministry of Environment find the idea very appealing.

The BC Liberal government and the pulp and paper industry have teamed up to push new regulations that will allow the use of pulp mill sludge, fly ash, and mill waste water to be used as a “soil enhancement product.”

Soil enhancement product–it sounds so natural, doesn’t it? Like compost and mulch and manure–all those good earthy things that are so great for the soil.

The problem is that no one seems to know precisely what’s in this chemical cocktail, much less what long-term effects it will have on soil, ground-water, plants, food, people, and animals.

Critics of the plan are voicing a variety of concerns. In spite of a growing list of unanswered questions, pulp mill sludge is being spread on farmlands, forests, golf courses, ball fields, and lawns throughout Canada and the US, possibly in your community.

Where’s the Evidence?

Shane Simpson, MLA for Vancouver-Hastings (NDP) in BC and the Opposition critic for Environment, is a vocal skeptic of the plan, though he does not dismiss the idea entirely.

“This idea is not totally and completely off the wall. It may be possible to do it safely,” he concedes.

So what does the environment critic object to? Mr. Simpson begins listing.

“The problem is a lack of due diligence and public input. There are no clear guidelines for use of this material. Where is the independent analysis? Where is the independent, peer-reviewed science? We need to know what the good, the bad, and the ugly are in this stuff. There has been a lack of public consultation, a lack of government transparency,” insists Mr. Simpson.

A Brief History

Delores Broten, the energetic and dedicated woman behind two environmental health organizations, Reach for Unbleached and The Watershed Sentinel, has been embroiled in this issue for more than 10 years. In 1996, she was part of a task force committee that included government, environmental organizations, and the pulp mill industry. Their mission was to design a viable solution to the burgeoning problem of waste from pulp mills.

The pulp mills proposed a form of composting and then land-spreading their industrial waste instead of using a much more costly land-filling method.

Ms. Broten and the other environmental watchdogs at the table remained open-minded while they steadfastly demanded what seems a highly logical step in the process. They insisted that industrial wastes undergo testing before being smeared over the land. Their draft included a requirement for testing of about 50 potential contaminants with clear limits on
specific compounds and guidelines on where land-spreading was appropriate.

It took two years for the BC Ministry of Environment to agree to independent testing to determine the chemical makeup of sludge. This apparently displeased the Council of Forest Industries, the forest industry umbrella group at the time. They withdrew from the task committee and adequate testing was left undone.

The latest regulations stated in government documents dated October 2005 have reduced the number of compounds required for testing from 50 to 11.

Spreading Compost or Spreading Toxins?

No one, not industry, government, or environmentalists, is fully aware of all the chemicals that could be in pulp mill sludge. But one thing is certain. The government’s plan to test for only 11 out of 50 possibly harmful compounds leaves a lot of room for uncertainty.

Hence, environmental groups insist it is impossible to conclude that the sludge is safe. The exact toxic contents of sludge are unknown, and the long-term risks to human health and the environment have not been determined.

“We do know that it contains a variety of heavy metals, thallium, benzenes, and phenolics,” warns Ms. Broten. “This is not a simple mix at all. Concentrated waste chemicals from the trees go into the sludge along with the additives from the pulp mill process. Composting it is ideal, but it must be done correctly with proper monitoring.”

Lucretia Schanfarber is a writer. She lives simply and gardens organically, without pulp mill sludge, with her husband on Cortes and Quadra Islands in BC.

Source: alive #286, August 2006