Rationale for Study
PFAS are fluorinated compounds that comprise a family of anthropogenic chemicals used for decades to make products resistant to heat, oil stains, grease, and water. Of these, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) have been the most prominently used in the U.S. PFAS are now regarded by EPA to be “emerging contaminants”.
By Sally Brown, University of Washington
By Ian Pepper, The University of Arizona; Greg Kester, California Association of Sanitation Agencies; Nick Basta and Alyssa Zearley, Ohio State University and Ryan Batjiaka, San Francisco PUC
WA Ecology PFAS Chemical Action Plan
The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) hosted a webinar to share the latest developments in their draft PFAS Chemical Action Plan on May 15, 2019. You can review the presentation, questions, attendee list and updated timeline on the PFAS Chemical Action Plan website.
Alaska Announces PFAS Stance
By Sally Brown, University of Washington
Abstracts of these resources are available in the searchable Information Portal offered to Northwest Biosolids members.
By Sharratt, B.S., Daniel C. Schlatter, Timothy C. Paulitz., Schillinger, W.F., Pi, H, Bary, A, Cogger, C, Washington State University and USDA-ARS
What we do
At the City of Calgary, we apply liquid biosolids on agricultural land as part of our Calgro program. We also apply biosolids to improve marginal agricultural land, which is land where the soil quality is poor. Adding biosolids improves the fertility of these lands and builds the soil for future crops. The goal of this project is to assess the potential of biosolids to improve Alberta's arable land base.
By Janelle Hunt, Metro Vancouver, BC
Metro Vancouver has been using the region’s biosolids to reclaim mine tailings and rock disposal sites (RDS) for decades; however, the establishment of coniferous trees has been a challenge due to the competitive effects of understory vegetation. The Mount Polley Mine, an operating open-pit copper-gold mine located in the interior of British Columbia, has a progressive reclamation plan that is designed to re-establish forest ecosystems containing self-sustaining native vegetation by mimicking natural succession.
Campaign to Halt Biosolids Land Application