Bio solids as Agriculture Fertilizer?

 

          Recently I've been hearing alot about the use of biosolids as agriculture fertilizer. Sounds gross right? Yeah I thought so too, so I decided to look a little further into it and I actually don't think its such a bad idea after all. First of all let's get a clear definition of bio solids. According to the Canadian Water and Wste Water Association bio solids are nutrient-rich organic materials resulting from the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment facility. When treated and processed, these residuals can be recycled and applied as fertilizer to improve and maintain productive soils and stimulate plant growth. Personally I think that using biosolids as fertilizer is quite efficient, as alternatively they would just be taking up space in a landfill or disposal facility.

     After treatment and processing, bio solids can be recylcyed and applied as fertilizer to improve and maintain productive soils and stimulate plant growth. This controlled land application of bio solids completes a natural cycle in the environment. Using bio solids also greatly reduces the need for chemical fertilizers. More waste water plants are becoming capable of producing high quality biosolids, and this is creating an even greater opportunity to use this valuable resource.

     Using bio solids as fertilizer has lots of pros, for example it creates jobs, it is a cost effective method of disposal, it recycles versus filling landfills, promotes farming,  reduces emissions from transportation to landfills, it is an effective and free fertilizer, it improves soil fertility, enhances soil structure moisture retention and soil permeability, and adds organic material that helps to maintain good soil. So far I've only mentioned the positives of biosolids as agriculture fertilizer, but believe it or not, there are some cons. They include being a potential health hazard, irreversible effects, contamination reslulting from accumulation of industrial waste, possible hazardous chemicals that could transfer to crops, it decreases property value and odor.



     As you can see the list of pros far outweighs the cons, and alot of the cons seem to be a bit superficial and more like worries like the odor, and that we don't really know what is in the fertilizer that we're using. This is why I believe that we are doing the right thing by using bio solids as agriculture fertilizer. Especially considering everything that is happening to our earth right now with global warming etc.. we need to do everything we can to keep it healthy, and using bio solids seems like a natural way to fertilize crops, while using less chemicals hat could harm our earth.


Sources
http://www.biosolidsinstitute.com/faqs/page3.shtml
http://www.cwwa.ca/faqbiosolids_e.asp
http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/wastewater/treatment/biosolids/genqa.cfm

Comments
http://natashasbioblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/give-poop-i-mean-bio-solids-chance.html?showComment=1308152637088#c4001226160995256517

http://danielssbiblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/biosolids-uses-and-
problems.html?showComment=1308152372215#c1594714013520094367

Technology in Medicine

   
               One of the major aspects of health care, much like many other things in our society today is technology. Technology has come along way in the past 50 years, and it continues to progress a little bit more every day. Technology plays a large role in the health care industry, for example it allows us to see inside the body without having to open it up. This has helped us become more able to accurately diagnose internal issues because we can see them up close, without any drastic surgeries. A few of the more common modern day medical technologies include magnetic resonance imagery (MRI), x-ray machines, ultrasounds, and cat scans. Technology is continuing to improve our health care system, and these technologies are making it easier for health care specialists to understand the internal body systems.


•    Magnetic resonance imagery is
a medical imaging technique used in radiology to visualize detailed internal structures. The first image created from an MRI was published in 1973, so this is a relatively new technology. MRI’s use nuclear magnetic resonance of protons produce proto density images.
•    X-ray technology has allowed us to see inside the human body since 1895. This technology allows doctors to see through a patients skin, in order to identify broken bones and cavities etc…
•    Ultrasound imaging uses high frequency sound waves to produce pictures of the internal body systems. Unike x-rays, ultrasound images are captured in real-time so you get to see the movement of the internal organs.
•     CT scanning (CAT scaning) is a noninvasive medical test that helps doctors with the diagnosis and treatment of common medical conditions, by producing many images of the inside of the body. CT scans provide a much clearer picture than regular x-ray exams, so they are usually used for more complex parts of the body, such as the brain, soft tissues, internal organs, and even blood vessels.

Technology has a huge effect on our health care system, Without all these technologies, it would take a lot longer to diagnose many common health issues, from something as small as a broken leg to diseases as severe as cancer. Treatments and diagnosis would be based solely on external appearance, so it would be a lot harder to identify the problem.  Thses modern technologies allow doctors to see the internal body systems, and identify any problems or things that don’t belong.

There have been many Canadian contributions to the health care system including the discovery of insulin. Insulin was discovered by two Canadian medical scientists in 1923. This scientific discovery helped a lot of diabetic individuals and people experiencing pancreas failure. The original insulin was then modified in a lab at U of T and is now saving lives all over the world.

    I think that everyone can agree that technology plays a major role in improving the health care system.  Billions of lives have been saved because of our new advanced medical procedures, and without them we would not be able to diagnose a lot of diseases in time for patients to get proper treatment, Overall, the continuously progression technology in our health care system has greatly improved the understand of the human, digestive, respiratory, and circulatory system, and continues to help us save lives.


Sources

http://health.howstuffworks.com/medicine/tests-treatment/x-ray.htm

http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=genus

http://health.howstuffworks.com/medicine/tests-treatment/mri.htm


Comments

http://virginiabioblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/medicine-and-technology-what-would-we.html

http://itsbiotime.blogspot.com/2011/03/more-life-from-more-technology.html