Pathogen survival during livestock manure storage and following land application.

This paper reports the first year results of field experiments to determine the survival times of pathogens in livestock manures during storage and following land application, using viable count methods. E. coli O157, Salmonella and Campylobacter survived in stored slurries and dirty water for up to three months, with Listeria surviving for up to three months.

An inventory of heavy metals inputs to agricultural soils in England and Wales.

An inventory of heavy metal inputs (Zn, Cu, Ni, Pb, Cd, Cr, As and Hg) to agricultural soils in England and Wales in 2000 is presented, accounting for major sources including atmospheric deposition, sewage sludge, livestock manures, inorganic fertilisers and lime, agrochemicals, irrigation water, industrial by-product 'wastes' and composts. Across the whole agricultural land area, atmospheric deposition was the main source of most metals, ranging from 25 to 85% of total inputs. Livestock manures and sewage sludge were also important sources, responsible for an estimated 37-40 and 8-17% of total Zn and Cu inputs, respectively.

Effects of past sewage sludge additions on heavy metal availability in light textured soils: implications for crop yields and metal uptakes.

The effect of heavy metal additions in past sewage sludge applications on soil metal availability and the growth and yield of crops was evaluated at two sites in the UK. At Gleadthorpe, sewage sludges enriched with salts of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) and nickel (Ni) had been applied to a loamy sand in 1982 and additionally naturally contaminated Zn and Cu sludge cakes in 1986. At Rosemaund, sewage sludges naturally contaminated with Zn, Cu, Ni and chromium (Cr) had been applied in 1968-1971 to a sandy loam.