Mid-Atlantic Biosolids Association

6/20/2008	Baltimore Sun Re-Visits its Biosolids Compost and Lead Article Baltimore Sun's editors have reportedly re-assigned its investigation into the use of biosolids compost to mitigate lead in urban soils, and have developed a new story around the issue. This one will likely ring truer to the ears of biosolids professionals. More >>

6/17/2008	WEF Submits Friend of the Court brief on Land Application This is a concise statement of the state-of-the-science in the environmental effects of land application of biosolids. More >>

6/16/2008	Associated Press Examines Its Biosolids Articles Coming as close to a retraction as is possible in the newspaper industry, the Associated Press revisits the allegation made in an earlier article that a biosolids compost study was an example of environmental injustice More >>

6/2/2008	Resources for Land Appliers in Pennsylvania At PennTec 2008, Bill Toffey describes the process by which a certification exam for biosolids land appliers could be developed in collaboration with the Association of Boards of Certification. A starting point is to review the reference material available to appliers in the state. More >>

5/30/2008	Technical Resources Available for Biosolids Training MABA is posting the technical resources that have been used by the Association of Boards of Certification for development of its test for biosolids land appliers More >>

5/28/2008

MABA Responds to the AP Articles on Compost Use in Baltimore

MABA has prepared an analysis of the distortions in the Associated Press article on the research undertaken in Baltimore that used biosolids-based compost to reduce lead bioavailability in urban soils. This document is supported by reference to the original research, abstracts of which are distributed to the MABA membership by Dr. Sally Brown, University of Washington, whose commmentary in BioCycle Magazine presents the perspective of a scientist who participated in some of the original research. More >>

5/23/2008	The Original AP Story: Sludge Tested As Lead-Poisoning Fix This is the AP story that was originally posted by the AP on the use of compost to mitigate lead contaminated soils More >>

5/23/2008	Greatest Medical Advance Since 1840: Wastewater Treatment Let's not forget that wastewater treatment is responsible for the greatest medical advance of the past two hundred and fifty years More >>

5/23/2008	The Baltimore Sun Looks at the Lead Study The story about compost use in Baltimore was given a second look by the Baltimore Sun More >>

5/19/2008	Biosolids as a Cause of Somatic Disease This paper explores the connection between biosolids odors and feelings of ill-health experienced in the community. The connection is a well-known phenomenon, previously known as MCS and as mass hysteria. More >>

5/19/2008	Biosolids and Greenhouse Gases Chris Peot, MABA president, and biosolids manager at DCWASA, gives us an overview of the role of biosolids in the greenhouse gas emission profile of wastewater plants. For a great example of a greenhouse gas study, visit the North East Biosolids and Residuals Association website, www.nebiosolids.org, for a downloadable report on Merrimack, NH. More >>

5/19/2008	Alexandria accomplishes innovative soil blending contract MABA Board member, George Floyd, describes a novel contracting approach for converting ASA's new Class A biosolids into a topsoil product More >>

5/19/2008	Ephrata gains approval for drinking water residuals Ephrata Area Joint Authority in Pennsylvania has gained approval of its drinking water treatment plant residual for use as a topsoil. It made application for this co-product determination to the PaDEP,which concurred with the finding. More >>

11/19/2007	Protocols for Timely Response Project Protocols for the Timely Investigation of Potential Health Incidents Associated with Biosolids Land Application. More >>

5/10/2007

Residential Source Reduction: Is It the Next Step for Biosolids?

Pharmaceuticals are typically thrown down the toilet. Is this the “official” recommended approach to managing expired and surplus prescription medications? Do you know which drugs partition into the biosolids versus being discharged in effluent? Did you know that federal enforcement agents need to be present when prescription drugs are taken back from consumers? More >>

3/27/2006	Monthly Research Abstracts from the NBMA These abstracts are issued monthly by the University of Washington, under an agreement with the Northwest Biosolids Management Association. More >>

12/2/2004

Good Enough To Eat: It's Time to Dig into Biosolids as Fertilizer

Why would the biosolids operations supervisor for the City of Tacoma have a smile on his face and enthusiasm to spare? After all, biosolids are, well, you know, materials that come from our toilets and drains. Wouldn't a workplace dedicated to processing such unglamorous stuff smell bad? And what could you tell your friends about your work? And would they want to shake your hand after finding out? More >>

12/1/2004	Department of Justice Findings on Lewis versus EPA This document summarizes the dispute between David Lewis and EPA over his biosolids research activities, and finds in favor of EPA. More >>

12/1/2004	Demystifying the Great Biosolids Debate Toxicologist Paul Chrostowski and Synagro's Bob O'dette examine the science behind recent biosolids controversies. More >>

12/1/2004	Penn State Biosolids Quality Brochure Dr Rick Stehouwer summarizes biosolids quality data from the Penn State labs that show compliance with regulatory standards and trends toward quality improvements. More >>

12/1/2004	NRC Report Synopsis The July 2002 report of the NRC has set the direction for biosolids research in the USA More >>

12/1/2004	FAQs on Biosolids from the National Biosolids Partnership This is a useful plain-English Frequently Asked Questions document about biosolids More >>

12/1/2004	City Sludge, Country Qualms An article from the Philadelphia Inquirer about Philadelphia's biosolids program. More >>

12/1/2004	CBS Evening News: Biosolids Story, October 2003 This is the script from the CBS News web-site of the biosolids story that aired October 2003. More >>

12/1/2004	University of Arizona News Release on Staph in Biosolids The Water Quality Centre at the University of Arizona,a leader in research into pathways of bacterial exposure of workers and residents, finds no Staph aureus in biosolids. More >>

12/1/2004	Teaching About Biosolids This document provides a template for a high school curriculum that brings in biosolids. More >>

12/1/2004	Virginia County Pays This is an article about the penalty imposted on Apptomatox County, Virginia, for legislation the interfered with biosolids use by farmers. More >>

12/1/2004	Biosolids Communications: One Lump or Two This paper was presented at Biosolid Gold addressing challenges with building public relationships. More >>

12/1/2004	BSE, The Bible and Biosolids Toffey presented this paper to the California Association of Sanitation Agencies on media communications approach biosolids issues. More >>

12/1/2004	A Basic Presentation on Biosolids This is a presentation by Bill Toffey to the Manufactured Soils Conference, November 2004. It provides some basic background into biosolids treatment and use. More >>

12/1/2004	Building Public Consensus Juliana Birkhoff discusses lessons learned from the WERF research summit on building public relationships for biosolids recycling. More >>