IS LAND APPLICATION OF BIOSOLIDS SAFE?
In order to be called biosolids, raw sludge must be carefully and extensively processed to meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Part 503 regulations. The USEPAs Part 503 standards are based on a half-century of research and are designed to protect human health and the environment. The regulation sets limits on trace elements content and requires extensive processing to kill pathogenic organisms. In establishing very stringent safety standards under Part 503 regulations, the USEPA considered numerous pathways by which humans could potentially be exposed to the chemical constituents of biosolids. Pathways included to protect human health were children ingesting biosolids, workers breathing dust at land application sites, and home gardeners using biosolids in their vegetable gardens. The MWRD has a long history of operating wastewater treatment facilities and has been land applying biosolids successfully for over a quarter of a century. The MWRD has an approved Illinois Envir
