| The study is an objective evaluation of the controversy on whether the practice of land application of biosolids for soil enrichment and restoration poses significant harm to the environment, human and animal health. Over the years, many review articles have concluded that the majority of research show that the practice poses less harm as compared to the benefits. This in turn made the United States Environmental Protection Agency to promote its use for soil enrichment and restoration. In an attempt to obtain an objective evaluation, based on reliable scientific evidence of the controversy, Google Scholar search was conducted using the phrase "environmental and health effects of land application of sewage sludge/biosolids". The search result yielded 86 research articles directly related to the topic. The 86 articles were then comprehensively studied and grouped into three categories: those research findings that proved that land application of biosolids poses significant harm to the environment, human and animal health, those that proved that the practice does not pose significant harm to the environment, human and animal health and those that were inclusive and suggest precaution in using biosolids for soil enrichment and restoration.;Out of the total of 86 research articles studied, 42 or about 49% found that land application of biosolids posed significant harm to the environment, human and animal health as opposed to 33 or about 38% concluding no significant harm. Furthermore, when research conducted in the U.S. were extracted from the 86 global research articles, about 51% found that land application of biosolids posed significant harm to the environment, human and animal health as opposed to about 36% concluding no significant harm. The U.S. articles numbered 47 or about 55% of the total articles reviewed. Based on these statistics from the current study, it is evident that majority of the studies conducted over the past 15 years suggest that land application of biosolids for soil enrichment and restoration poses significant harm to the environment, human and animal health. |
