Biosolids Applied to Land

Advancing Standards and Practices

Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 9780309084864
eISBN Pdf: 9780309570367
eISBN Epub: 9780309169295
Place of publication: United States
Year of digital publication: 2002
Month: October
Pages: 366
DDC: 633
Language: English

Caption

The 1993 regulation (Part 503 Rule) governing the land application of biosolids was established to protect public health and the environment from reasonably anticipated adverse effects. Included in the regulation are chemical pollutant limits, operational standards designed to reduce pathogens and the attraction of disease vectors, and management practices. This report from the Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology evaluates the technical methods and approaches used by EPA to establish those standards and practices, focusing specifically on human health protection. The report examines improvements in risk-assessment practices and advances in the scientific database since promulgation of the regulation, and makes recommendations for addressing public health concerns, uncertainties, and data gaps about the technical basis of the biosolids standards.

Biosolids Applied to Land
Copyright
Preface
Contents
Abbreviations
Summary
- THE COMMITTEE’S TASK
- MAJOR FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
  - Overarching Findings
  - Overarching Recommendations
  - Health Effects
  - Chemical and Pathogen Standards
    - Chemical Standards
    - Pathogen Standards
1 Introduction
- BIOSOLIDS
  - Definitions and Use
  - Pollutant Standards
  - Earlier NRC Review
- HUMAN HEALTH AND RISK-ASSESSMENT ISSUES
- THE COMMITTEE’S TASK
- THE COMMITTEE’S APPROACH
- REPORT ORGANIZATION
- REFERENCES
2 Biosolids Management
- FEDERAL BIOSOLIDS REGULATIONS AND CURRENT STATE OF PROGRAM
  - History
  - Federal Policy
  - Proposed Regulation
  - Final Regulations
    - Pollutant Concentrations
    - Pathogen Control
      - Class A Pathogen Requirements
      - Class B Pathogen Requirements
    - Reduction of Vector Attraction
    - Treatment Design Standards
  - Rule Modifications
  - Revision of Regulations
    - Public Issue Forums
  - EPA Resources
  - State Programs
- EUROPEAN BIOSOLIDS MANAGEMENT
- PATHOGEN ISSUES AND TREATMENT CONTROLS
- PATHOGEN EQUIVALENCY COMMITTEE
- IMPLEMENTATION AND END-USE PRACTICES
  - Overview
  - Management Practices
  - End-Use Practices
- CHARACTERIZATION OF BIOSOLIDS
- COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE AND ENFORCEMENT
- FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
- REFERENCES
3 Epidemiological Evidence of Health Effects Associated with Biosolids Production and Application
- DESCRIPTION OF THE LITERATURE
  - Exposed Populations
  - Observed Health Outcomes
  - Assessment of Causality
- FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
  - Response Studies
    - Preplanned Studies
- REFERENCES
4 Advances in Risk Assessment Since the Establishment of the Part 503 Rule
- THE RISK-ASSESSMENT PROCESS
  - Components of the Risk-Analysis Process
  - Confronting Uncertainty and Variability
- NEW APPROACHES AND CONSIDERATIONS IN RISK ASSESSMENT
  - Recent Reports Define New Directions in Risk Assessment
  - Advances in Hazard Identification
  - Advances in the Dose-Response Characterization Process
  - Changes in Dose-Response Methods
    - EPA’s Proposed 1996 Carcinogen Risk-Assessment Guidelines
    - Time-to-Tumor Models
    - Use of Subjective Statistics: Bayesian Methods
    - Use of Meta-Analysis in Place of Single-Species Data Sets
  - Assessment of Mixtures
  - Advances in the Exposure Characterization Process
  - Increased Focus on Indoor and Residential Environments
  - Methods for Monitoring Biological Agents in Exposure Media
  - Explicit Treatment of Uncertainty and Variability
  - Multimedia and Multiple-Pathway Exposure Assessments
  - Biological Markers
  - Challenges to the Risk-Characterization Process for Biosolids
  - Characterizing Exposures to Children as a Subpopulation
  - Participation of the Affected Populations
  - Link Between Risk Assessment and Management of Land-Application Sites
- CHANGES IN RISK-ASSESSMENT APPROACHES IN EPA OFFICES
  - Office of Research and Development (ORD)
    - National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA)
      - Exposure Assessment
      - Cancer Risk Assessment
    - National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL)
      - National Exposure Surveys
      - Pharmacokinetic Models and Biomarker Data
  - Office of Air and Radiation (OAR)
    - Radiation Protection Division
    - Indoor Air-Quality Programs
    - Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS)
  - Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER)
    - Office of Solid Waste (OSW)
    - Office of Underground Storage Tanks (OUST)
    - Office of Emergency and Remedial Response (OERR)
  - Office of Water (OW)
  - Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances (OPPTS)
- FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
- REFERENCES
5 Evaluation of EPA’s Approach to Setting Chemical Standards
- HAZARD ASSESSMENT AND CHEMICAL SELECTION
  - Round 1 Pollutant Selection
  - Round 2 Pollutant Selection
  - Limitations of the Assessment and Selection Process
    - Survey Data
    - Additional Chemicals of Potential Concern
    - Data Gaps
- EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT
  - Summary of Approach Used to Select Exposure Pathways
  - Description of Conceptual Model and Exposure Scenario Approach
  - Evaluation of Exposure Models and Parameters
    - HEI Receptor Versus RME Receptor
    - Determination of Chemical Concentrations in Exposure Media
      - Mass Balance and Distribution of Contaminants
      - Soil Concentrations
      - Plant Concentrations
      - Livestock Concentrations
      - Air Concentrations
      - Surface-Water Concentrations
      - Groundwater Concentrations
      - Human Intake Parameters
- DERIVATION OF RISK-BASED STANDARDS
  - Toxicity Assessment
  - Calculations
  - Target Risks
- INORGANIC CHEMICALS
  - Bioavailability to Humans
  - Metal Speciation and Availability
  - Regulated Metals and Metalloids
    - Arsenic
    - Cadmium
    - Lead
    - Mercury
    - Other Regulated Inorganic Chemicals
- ORGANIC CHEMICALS
  - Environmental Fate and Transport
  - Dioxin and Dioxin-like Chemicals
  - Other Organic Chemicals
    - Brominated Diphenyl Ethers
    - Surfactants
    - Chlorinated Paraffins
    - Nitro and Polycyclic Musks
    - Pharmaceuticals
    - Volatile Emissions and Odorants
- FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
- REFERENCES
6 Evaluation of EPA’s Approach to Setting Pathogen Standards
- PATHOGEN STANDARDS
  - Class B Requirements
    - Treatment Requirements
    - Site Restrictions
  - Class A Requirements
  - EPA’s Approach to Assessing Microbial Risks
  - Evaluation of Operational Standards
    - Techniques for Reducing Pathogens
    - Reliability of Processes
    - Reliability of Use Controls
- PATHOGENS IN BIOSOLIDS
  - Viral Pathogens
    - Caliciviruses
    - Adenoviruses
    - Hepatitis A and E Viruses
    - Astroviruses and Rotaviruses
  - Bacterial Pathogens
    - Escherichia coli 0157:H7
    - Listeria montocytogenes
    - Helicobacter pylori
    - Legionella spp.
    - Staphylococcus aureus
    - Protozoan Pathogens
    - Helminths
  - Prions
  - Rationale for Selecting Emerging Organisms
  - Role of Indicator Organisms
- EXPOSURE TO PATHOGENS
  - Air
  - Soil
  - Water
  - Vectors
  - Regional Differences
- HOST FACTORS
  - Concomitant Exposures
  - Genetic Factors
  - Acquired Immunity
- EXPOSURE TO WORKERS
- ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE
- PATHOGEN RISK ASSESSMENT
  - Drinking Water
  - Food and Air
  - Applicability of Available Approaches to Biosolids Standards
    - Potential Limitations in Sampling and Detection Methods
      - Bacteria
      - Viruses
      - Protozoa and Helminths
    - Potential Limitations in Dose-Response Information
    - Exposure Routes Other Than Ingestion
    - Population Level Modeling
- FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
- REFERENCES
7 Integration of Chemical and Pathogen Risk Assessment
- AGENT-BY-AGENT RISK ASSESSMENT
- SECONDARY TRANSMISSION
- COMPLEX MIXTURES
- FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
- REFERENCES
Glossary
Appendix A BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ON THE COMMITTEE ON TOXICANTS AND PATHOGENS IN BIOSOLIDS…
Appendix B PARTICIPANTS AT PUBLIC SESSIONS

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Biosolids Applied to Land

Advancing Standards and Practices

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