Thanks to our website sponsors. Contact them for additional, practical expertise regarding biosolids and residuals management.

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NEW!  Anaerobic Digestion & Biogas Use Information

Developed as part of MA "Digester Day" - May 8, 2012

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NEBRA Products... 

Information Update:  Microconstituents in Biosolids: Current State of Knowledge, May 2011.  A 4-page summary of the science regarding presence, fate, and significance of pharmaceuticals, personal care products (PPCPs), and other microconstituents in biosolids applied to soils.  Click here to download.

Information Update: Options for Biosolids Use or Disposal in New England & Eastern Canada, April 2011.  Summarizes pros and cons of various beneficial use and disposal options. Click here to download.

North East Conference presentations are available at the conferences webpage.

Recent NEBRA presentations:

Municipal Biosolids Risks: 25 Years of Research & Practice (7.4 MB low-resolution PDF of slides presented at the MPWWA Annual Seminar, Charlottetown, PE, April 24, 2012)

The Vision for NH Wastewater Treatment Facilities: Full Resource Recovery (presented at the NH Water & Watershed Conference, Plymouth State University, March 23, 2012)

Addressing Questions About Residuals - A Training (Dec. 8, 2011)

Microconstituents in Biosolids: Update on the Science (NEWEA Annual Conference, Jan 2011)

Biosolids Composting in the U. S. in 2010 (NEWEA Annual Conference, Jan 2011)

NEBRAMail, our email newsletter:  distilled biosolids and residuals news for New England and eastern Canada.  Subscribe.

Biosolids Emissions Assessment Model (BEAM) - NEBRA was a member of the team, led by Sylvis, that produced this model and spreadsheet calculator for estimating greenhouse gas emissions from biosolids management for the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment.  NOW updated!  Version 1.1 available free here.

The White House garden & biosolids compost -  This story began in spring of 2009:  a single soil test at the exciting new home garden at the White House triggered an online and print discussion of lead in urban soils and its potential impacts.  Without fact-checking, many of the writers who took the story "viral" on the internet have assumed that biosolids compost helped cause the somewhat elevated lead level.  That's unlikely, as this Information Update demonstrates. The fact is, biosolids compost is a high-demand product used widely in agriculture, horticulture, and turf care.  It is even used to reduce lead bioavailability at significantly contaminated sites.  Published guides and research papers on this topic are available; contact the NEBRA office.

A Greenhouse Gas Emissions Analysis of Biosolids Management Options for Merrimack, NH (2008) compares composting and landfill disposal using local data, resulting in estimates of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions for each option. Click here to download.

Global Atlas of Excreta, Wastewater Sludge, and Biosolids Management: Moving Forward the Sustainable and Welcome Uses of a Global Resource.  NEBRA Director Ned Beecher wrote the summary chapter for this United Nations Habitat publication, and NEBRA contributed a chapter on U.S. biosolids management.  Availabe as a free download or in print here.

NEBRA Response to the Film "Sludge Diet" ("Tabou(e)")   This documentary, originally released in 2006 in French in Quebec, advocates against the use of biosolids on land by citing incidents that purportedly show harm from this practice.  The conclusions reached by those in the film have been refuted by U. S. EPA, state environmental agencies, and others, as discussed in this NEBRA response.  Download here.

A National Biosolids Regulation, Quality, End Use & Disposal Survey (2007) provides the most comprehensive information to date regarding how sewage sludge is managed in the United States. Data is from 2004. The report consists of four parts:

A National Biosolids Regulation, Quality, End Use & Disposal Survey

National Biosolids Report, Appendices A, B, C

National Biosolids Report, Appendix D, Alabama - Missouri

National Biosolids Report, Appendix D, Montana - Wyoming

The Science of Biosolids Recycling
The Science of Biosolids Recycling

NEBRA Film Review of "Crapshoot: The Gamble with Our Wastes"  This 2003 documentary film was reviewed by Ned Beecher in 2005.  Download the review here.

How Biosolids are Generated and Used in New England, a slide presentation in PDF format.  Download here.

Official Usage of the Term "Biosolids" provides a short history of the word "biosolids" and a compilation of uses of the term in federal, state, and provincial regulations and guidance and other official documents.  Download: Official Usage of the Term "Biosolids"

Saving Soil: Biosolids Recycling in New England (2001) describes the sewage sludge management practices in the six New England states. Includes information on the quality of the region's land applied biosolids. While some of the quantity data and other details are now outdated, this report still provides an accurate general picture. Download: Saving Soil

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