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<p class=MsoNormal>G’day All,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>I was sent the item below from another discussion group and
have permission to disseminate it here – it may help in the thinking
about “Negative Press”.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Happy Digesting,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>HOOROO<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Consolas'>Mr. Paul
Harris, Room S116b, Waite Main Building Faculty of Sciences, The
University of Adelaide, Waite Campus, PMB 1, Glen Osmond SA 5064
Ph : +61 8 8303 7880
Fax : +61 8 8303 4386 <a
href="mailto:paul.harris@adelaide.edu.au">mailto:paul.harris@adelaide.edu.au</a>
<a href="http://www.adelaide.edu.au/directory/paul.harris">http://www.adelaide.edu.au/directory/paul.harris</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Consolas'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Consolas'>CRICOS
Provider Number 00123M<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'>On
Sun, Feb 6, 2011 at 5:48 AM, heinzpetermang <<a
href="mailto:heinz-peter@worldtoiletcollege.org" target="_blank">heinz-peter@worldtoiletcollege.org</a>>
wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Dear all,<br>
<br>
I followed the discussion with great interest, and I am really surprised about
a non-proofed sentence from Prof. Ralph Otterpohl as:<br>
<br>
"This makes biogas plants a clear risk technology for a very very severe
illness."<br>
<br>
This discussion has already happened in the Biogas Scene between 2004 and 2009,
and again inside GIZ initiated by Prof. Helge Boehnel in 2006, and again in
2008.<br>
<br>
Prof. Monika Krueger (University of Leipzig) and Prof. Helge Boehnel
(University of Goettingen) are publishing since 10 years in various articles
the opinion that fermentation residues from biogas plants present a significant
hazard potential; poisoning of animals and humans may be caused by the toxins
of C. perfringens and C. botulinum. In particular, C. botulinum is known for
the formation of toxic poison under certain circumstances (botulism). Both
scientists recommend the permanent control of the digestate for the presence of
pathogenic organisms, especially since these also are generated by the multiplication
of bacteria during fermentation and storage of the digestate.<br>
<br>
But C. botulinum is part of the soil degradation process bacteria. During each
anaerobic degradation process of organic material, amino acids are degraded
pairwise by Clostridium botulinum (BOTOX) using the "Stickland
reaction" in which one amino acid serves as a hydrogen donor and the other
as acceptor, resulting in acetate, ammonia, and CO2. During the splitting of
cysteine, hydrogen sulphide is released.<br>
<br>
1988: Already in September 1988, in the "Design Manual for Constructed
Wetlands and Aquatic Plant Systems for Municipal Wastewater Treatment" of
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency it is written that "Wildlife may
be affected by wetlands systems because anaerobic muds may contain the
causative organism of avian botulism (Clostridium botulinum). Control of this
wildlife pathogen can be accomplished largely by multiple dispersion points for
free water surface (FWS) wetlands. This pathogen is not a problem for wild fowl
in subsurface flow system (SFS) wetlands or aquatic plant systems." <br>
<br>
Does this make FWS wetlands a clear risk technology for a very very severe
illness?<br>
<br>
2002: In the UK-Risk Assessment: Use of Composting and Biogas Treatment to
Dispose of Catering Waste Containing Meat, of the Department for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs, from May 2002, is recommended that a warning label is
put on bio-waste compost sold for home use to ensure infants under 6 months are
kept away, even they found that the "estimated" spore loading in
compost is lower than for some soils in The Netherlands." <br>
<br>
Does this make composting a clear risk technology for a very very severe
illness?<br>
<br>
2006: In the IWAS Journal Water Health 04 (2006) 277-288, <a
href="http://www.iwaponline.com/jwh/004/0277/0040277.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.iwaponline.com/jwh/004/0277/0040277.pdf</a>
an article about "Watershed issues associated with Clostridium botulinum:
A literature review", from Sharon C. Long and Tiffany Tauscher, reviewed
aspects of naturally occurring C. botulinum in light of concerns for source
water watersheds. C. botulinum has been detected in raw water storage areas,
trout farms, fish and environmental samples from coastal area, dust, wetland
sediments and other sources. A number of incidents of detection of the
different types of C. botulinum in varying environments around the globe are
analysed. Soils and dusts have often been cited as a significant reservoir of
C. botulinum. Serious outbreaks of botulism have occurred in beef cattle that
were fed chicken litter. In The Netherlands, botulism has occurred in cattle
that were fed wet brewer's grains. In another case C. botulinum type spores
were found in bales of round bale barley haylage that were fed to cattle.
Haylage harvested green and encased in black plastic bags to facilitate
lacto-fermentation, was presumably contaminated by the botulinum toxin when
fermentation failed to produce enough acid to lower the pH to 4.5, the pH below
which C. botulinum growth is inhibited. Thus, hay fermentation presents a
potential problem for farmers who use round hay balers to produce haylage. <br>
<br>
Does this make haylage in round plastic packed bales a clear risk technology
for a very very severe illness?<br>
<br>
2009: In the « Evaluation du programme latrine Medair à Madagascar », August
2009, WASTE NL and Practica Foundation, C. botulinum have been identified in
the faeces of urine diversion toilets as part of the GRAM-positive bacteria
package. <br>
<br>
Does this make UDDTs a clear risk technology for a very very severe illness?<br>
<br>
When canning food it is important to completely control the botulinum bacteria,
because if these bacteria survive and grow inside a sealed jar of food, they
can produce the poisonous toxin. Even tasting of food containing this toxin can
be fatal. Whether food should be processed in a pressure canner or boiling
water canner depends on the acidity of the food. Acidity may be natural, as in
most fruits, or added. Low-acid (pH>4.6) canned foods contain too little
acidity to prevent the growth of the botulinum bacteria, while acid foods
(pH<4.6) contain enough acid to block their growth or destroy them more
rapidly when heated. Fruits are acid foods, but vegetables are not. Therefore
they should be acidified with lemon juice, citric acid or vinegar. If low acid
foods are not acidified, the processing in boiling water is not recommended.<br>
<br>
Does this make canned fruits a clear risk technology for a very very severe
illness?<br>
<br>
Already based on German research data collected before November 2005 it could
be stated that no cross-contamination of botulism from infected animals through
digestate to animal fodder was detected in Germany. Also the German Federal
Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) published in a statement the fact that the
occurrence of symptoms caused 'visceral botulism' by the interaction of 4
important factors is determined:<br>
<br>
1. Clostridiums are increased in the environment by over-fertilization with
manure or poultry litter<br>
<br>
2. Increased incidence of the disease in high-yielding cattle with unstable immune
system<br>
<br>
3. Poor nutrition of high-yielding cattle (rarely ruminant fair, too low fibre
content) <br>
<br>
4. Poor feeding hygiene (poor hygienic quality of silage, etc.) <br>
<br>
In addition, the department "cattle diseases" of the German
Veterinary Society (DVG) published in a statement already 2006 the fact that C.
botulinum is almost everywhere common, and could be occasionally demonstrated
in the gastrointestinal tract of completely healthy cattle. The clinical
pictures of the "visceral Botulismus" could also be caused by many
other factors than by C. botulinum, namely unfavourable feeding and housing
conditions, metabolic disorders or other infectious diseases.<br>
<br>
Industrially processed, vacuum-packaged, hotsmoked salmanoids have been
responsible for a cluster of outbreaks in northern Europe. The consumers'
demand for reduced use of sodium salts and the vacuum packaging used to prolong
shelf lives have apparently created high-risk botulinogenic products that are
largely dependent on refrigeration for safety. <br>
<br>
It appears that C. botulinum spores naturally occur in soils and sediments with
specific strains predominating in different geographical regions. However,
considering current source water protection practices in the U.S., threats of
waterborne botulism outbreaks among human populations is low. Threats of forage
botulism can be minimized by education of farmers regarding hay and feed
management practices. Threats to source waters from wildlife outbreaks can be
minimized by proper detection and carcass management when avian and fish
outbreaks occur. Conventional treatment processes have been demonstrated to be
adequately effective at removing Clostridium spores from drinking water.<br>
<br>
IRDCurrents No.13 and 14 from July 1997, edited by the Department of Rural
Development Studies of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in
UPPSALA, and financed by Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation
Agency) published by René Sansoucy on page 8: "Biodigestion has positive
public health aspects, particularly where toilets are coupled with the
biodigester, and the anaerobic conditions kill pathogenic organisms as well as
digesting toxins, for example, botulinum toxin."<br>
<br>
Research work about "Biotic and abiotic components from effluents of
anaerobic plants with a potential risks for water protection areas",
published in February 2010 by Dr. W. Philipp, Institut für Umwelt- und
Tierhygiene, Universität Hohenheim, Stuttgart shows that anaerobic digestion
does not increase, but reduce usually accomplished by good anaerobic process
management. This finding is not, however directly for C. botulinum, because C.
perfringens has been used for the test, and C. botulinum may be different. <br>
<br>
The Federal Agricultural Research Centre under the leadership of Prof. Weiland
conducted appropriate investigations in June 2007 on C. botulinum in substrates
and fermentation residues of biogas plants: The data do not indicate any
increase in pathogen load in digestate. During the fermentation no pathogenic
clostridia or close relatives of the C. could be characterized as C. botulinum.
Also during the fermentation of cattle manure in biogas plants, the amount of
available clostridia had been reduced. (Published from the German Biogas
Association in May 2010: "Informationen über Clostridium botulinum")<br>
<br>
Of course for precautionary reasons, the concentration of C. botulinum in the
environment should not be increased. Therefore it would be appropriate to
conduct quantitative research in bio-compost, faecal compost, dry faeces, and
digestate in connection with investigations of the impacted soil to determine a
possible longer-term increase of concentration in the soil. Also interesting
would be the possible survival of C. botulinum spores on grassland after
application with naturally contaminated compost and / or fermentation residues
and their possible transition to the plants in experience.<br>
<br>
As long as potentially contaminated feedstock is crushed and heated to
133°C/3bar/20 one can be sure that C. botulinum spores are not surviving the
composting or anaerobic reactor, and thus the discussion of possible high
swings in biogas would be obsolete. Critical substrates are mainly chicken
manure and chicken litter.<br>
<br>
Summarizing it should be clearly stated that the discussion about C. botulinum
in Germany and the EU is pushed to a political level by some circles, but the
recycling of organic waste and other bio-degradable waste materials will not be
stopped, at least not in foreseeable future. <br>
<br>
Heinz-Peter Mang, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Centre for
Sustainable Environmental Sanitation<o:p></o:p></p>
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