Supplementary Information

The Safe Sludge Matrix

The details below have been extracted from an agreement made between Water UK representing the 14 UK Water and Sewage Operators and the British Retail Consortium (BRC) representing the major retailers. The agreement was driven by the desire to ensure the highest possible standards of food safety and to provide a framework which gives the retailers and food industry confidence that sludge reuse on agricultural land is safe, whilst enabling farmers and growers to continue to utilise the beneficial properties in sewage sludge as a valuable and cost effective source of nutrients and organic matter.  

Crop Group		Untreated Sludges	Conventionally Treated Sludges		Enhanced Treated Sludges
Combinable and Animal Feed Crops		X	Ö		Ö
- Grazed		X	X	3 week	Ö	3 week
Grass &			Deep injected or ploughed down only	No grazing and		no grazing and
Forage				harvest		harvest
- Harvested		X	Ö	interval applies	Ö	interval applies
			No grazing in season of application

NOTE:

X Applications not allowed (except where stated conditions apply).

What is meant by Conventionally Treated Sludge?

There are a range of different treatment processes used to reduce the fermentability and possible health hazards associated with sewage sludge. These rely on biological, chemical or heat treatment. The most common form of treatment is anaerobic digestion. Conventionally treated sludge has been subjected to defined treatment processes and standards that ensure at least 99% of pathogens have been destroyed.

What is Enhanced Treated Sludge?

Enhanced treatment, originally referred to as "Advanced Treatment", is a term used to describe treatment processes which are capable of virtually eliminating any pathogens which may be present in the original sludge. Enhanced treated sludge will be free from Salmonella and will have been treated so as to ensure that 99.9999% pathogens have been destroyed (a 6-log reduction).

Your local Sewerage Operator will be able to provide further details of the treatment method used as this may affect where and when sludge can be applied, as well as the fertiliser and soil conditioning value.

Full details can be found in ‘The Safe Sludge Matrix – Guidelines for the Application of Sewage Sludge to Agricultural Land’.

Other Sources of Information	Reference	Available from
Food Standards Agency - Milk Hygiene on the Dairy Farm – A Practical Guide for Dairy Farmers		FSA – DHI Tel: 01823 285540
Responsible Use of Medicines for Agriculture – Cattle Code		RUMA Tel: 01438 717900
Veterinary medicines: safe use by farmers and other animal handlers	AS31	HSE Books Tel 01787 881165
Code of Practice on the Responsible Use of Animal Medicines on the Farm		Veterinary Medicines Directorate - 01932 336911
Codes of Recommendation for the Welfare of Livestock: Animal Health and Biosecurity		SEERAD Tel: 0131 2440312
HSE COSHH in Agriculture	AS28	HSE Books
Local authority; Water Byelaws (for preventing waste, undue consumption misuse or contamination of water)		Local water company
NFU Health and safety model risk assessment for agriculture	Ref: 062	NFU Orderline Tel: 0891 338700 (For NFU members only)
NFU Code of Practice for on Farm Mixers Producing Complete Feeds for their Own Use		NFU Orderline Tel: 0891 338700
Code of practice for the safe storage handling and feeding of feed materials on farm		NDFAS 01387 247967
British Standard - Milking machine standards	BS ISO 6690, 5707 and 5545	BSI Tel: 0181 996 9001
British Standard – Buildings and structures for agriculture	BS 5502 pt 40	BSI Tel: 0181 996 9001
MDC – Research into Practice – Housing – How to make your cows more comfortable and meet welfare recommendations.	No 30	MDC Tel: 01285 646500
Prevention of Environmental Pollution from Agricultural Activity		SEERAD Tel: 0131 2440312
Safe Sludge Matrix		ADAS Tel: 01902 754190