- Hello, Jeff - I have heard that Asian and European Rendering
plants sell their products to the US. This is criminal. We know that
Japan has had prion disease, as well as cases of MUTATED stain prion, as
did Italy. Rendering plants use all of the parts that carry prions. Prions,
that are still viable, are all mixed in the render vat and will be found
in any of the render. Why, in the "name of good sense" would
we want to buy rendered products from countries that have prion disease,
especially, prion disease that has been mutated and novel?
-
- I understand rendering plants are the mega 'cash cow,'
as we take parts of the cow that would not be usable and otherwise worthless
and dump them in the render vats, turning it all into pure profit. 50 cents
becomes hundreds of dollars.
-
- I wish that the Government would look more carefully
at these rendering plants.
-
- We also need to know more about the meat inspection business.
Who do the majority of meat inspectors work for? My information indicates
that the majority are hired by and work for the meat companies and not
the USDA. We have ONE government inspector supposedly overseeing the "company"
inspectors. In other words, we have inspectors who get a company paycheck,
deciding on the quality of meat the company produces. Madness.
-
- And what about the downer cows? They will STILL be used
for meat and byproducts to feed animals...calves, pigs, chickens, sheep,
etc. Remember, "what goes into animal feeds eventually goes into the
human who consume the livestock."
-
- It appears that we still have HUGE problems and the government
and many consumers are simply ignoring them.
-
- Patricia Doyle
-
- From: Helane Shields
- Subject: PRION survival in abattoir waste compost
- To: The US Compost Council
- compost@compostingcouncil.org
- Date: Wed, 31 Dec 2003
-
- I am amazed to read the ongoing discussion about "composting"
abattoir (slaughterhouse) wastes:
-
- "The abattoir waste consisted of intestines, internal
organs (lungs, kidneys,
- stomachs, hearts etc), bones from deboner, intestine
and stomach contents..."
-
- BSE prions can be found in cattle intestines, not to
mention spleen, tonsils, eyes, brain, CNS tissue, etc.
-
- Isn't anyone concerned about the survival of prions from
BSE infected cattle in "composted" abattoir waste? Prions
are practically indestructible -- rendering, composting, boiling in acid,
etc. do not inactivate them . . . to the best of my knowledge about the
only way to "kill" them is advanced alkaline hydrolysis.
-
- The US EPA has already expressed concern about prions
in runoff into surface waters from meat packing plants:
-
- http://www.epa.gov/ospinter/regions/epreport.pdf
-
- Page 11: "An assessment is needed on the potential
public health impact of prions which may be associated with stream effluent
near meat packing plants."
-
- The National Research Council of the National Academy
of Sciences had the following to say in July 2002 about the risk of prions
in sewage sludge ("biosolids") (and this was before BSE was found
in Canada and USA):
-
- Page 210 - "Concern about prions has arisen with
the advent of prion animal diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy
(BSE) in the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe. The BSE prions concentrate
in an animal's brain and spinal cord, but they been detected only in sheep
blood at low concentrations. Animal manure would have no or low concentrations
of BSE prions except possibly for wastes from slaughterhouses (Ward et
al. 1984); however the presence of prions in such wastes is uncertain (EPA
2001). Prions are generally transmitted from animal to animal (cow to cow,
sheep to sheep). The risk of prion transmission to biosolids from animals
is low but can increase with the presence of small amounts of neural tissues
or placenta coming from slaughter houses. At present, there has been little
evidence of prion-contaminated manures in the United States."
-
- "Prions are very difficult to inactivate and require
rigorous treatment (Godfree 2001). The higher the solids content of the
waste, the more rigorous the treatment required (EPA 2001). "
- ______
-
- Contrary to assurances from the USDA that there are only
about 200,000 "downer" cattle each year, in fact the National
Renderers Association says there are 1.8 million downer cows each year
-- and those downer cows that exhibit CNS problems are the ones most likely
to be infected with BSE. Less than one percent of these animals are tested
for Mad Cow.
-
- See http://www.renderers.org/economic_impact/index.htm
click on:
- Livestock Mortalities: Methods of Disposal and Their
Potential Cost SEE PAGES 36-37)
-
- There is a tremendous amount that is unknown about prion
diseases -- both human and animal. For example, prions have been found
in the urine and blood of human victims of Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease.
-
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=
PubMed&list_uids=12351519&dopt=Abstract
-
- Just this week a patient in Britain died from the human
form of Mad Cow disease (vCJD) following a blood transfusion.
-
- A recent Swiss report warns hospitals about potential
liability due to the high infectivity risks from surgery on victims suffering
from the human form of mad cow - vCJD and recommends use of disposal surgical
equipment.
-
- ""If vCJD patent undergoes surgery, infectious
prions may remain on surgical instruments . . . normal methods of disinfection
do not work."
-
- http://www.swissre.com/INTERNET/pwswpspr.nsf/fmBookMarkFrameSet?ReadForm&BM=.
./vwAllbyIDKeyLu/ESTR-5PJD3H?OpenDocument
-
- ********************
-
- The US EPA has already expressed concern about prions
getting into POTWs (and from there into the sewage sludge) :
-
- http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_1395121,00.html
-
- EPA eyes wildlife's lab practices
- Concern centers on whether CWD prions can get into the
water
-
- By Todd Hartman, Rocky Mountain News
- September 5, 2002
-
- The EPA is scrutinizing laboratory practices at the Colorado
Division of Wildlife, worried that the infectious agents believed to cause
chronic wasting disease could wash into public sewers and underground septic
tanks.
-
- Water regulators with the Environmental Protection Agency
could require wildlife officials to alter plumbing at division laboratories
in Fort Collins, Craig and elsewhere to ensure that the persistent protein
- called a prion - doesn't accumulate in water supplies.
-
- ************************
-
- TWO sewage treatment plant operators have already expressed
concern about prions getting in their sewage sludge:
-
- JUNE 11, 2002 - THE CAPITAL TIMES - MADISON, WISCONSIN
- BY BILL NOVAK - "DEER ESTIMATE UP TO 25,000 IN KILLING ZONE -- CARCASS
REMOVAL STILL A PROBLEM"
-
- "We'd like to keep the deer as close to home as
possible," Brusca said. ""We'd like to keep the deer as
close to home as possible," Brusca said. "Right now, the two
options we have are landfills and rendering The plants have indicated
they are not willing to take deer from the eradication zone." plants.
-
- But Jon Schellpfeffer, chief engineer for the Madison
Metropolitan Sewerage District, told the task force the district would
be leery taking in leachate from the landfill's pipes if there was any
chance at all it contained prions.
-
- Schellpfeffer said the two byproducts from the treatment
plant are clean water and a condensed biologic solid that's sold to farmers
to recycle as fertilizer on their fields. ("CONDENSED BIOLOGIC SOLID"
- A new euphemism for sewage sludge !! )
-
- "The risks are probably low, but is there anything
that could jeopardize our re-use program?," Schellpfeffer said. "There's
an awful lot of unanswered questions at this point." ("RE-USE
PROGRAM" - A EUPHEMISM FOR LANDSPREADING SEWAGE SLUDGE !!)
-
- ***********************
-
- SEPTEMBER 8, 2002: leachate is spread on farm fields
!!
-
- http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/sep02/71764.asp
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN
-
- "Dane County's concern was that leachate - polluted
water that percolates through layers and layers of landfill - could contain
prions. Leachate is normally sent to wastewater treatment plants and then
spread on farm fields.
-
- "If you can't find a way to get rid of leachate,
you are out of the landfill business," said Dane County Supervisor
Brett Hulsey, a member of a county ad hoc committee on deer disposal and
landfills."
-
- **************************
-
- A Wisconsin Risk Assessment confirms that hydrophobic
prions are partitioned to the sewage sludge:
-
- http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/wildlife/Whealth/issues/Cwd/risk_analysis.pdf
-
- PAGE 4: "Land application of municipal sludge that
potentially contains CWD PrP-res may result in the presence of CWD PrP-res
in surface soils."
-
- Once that leachate (from landfill) reaches the wastewater
treatment plant the suspended solids will be separated from the effluent.
Those suspended solids will then be termed "sludge" or biosolids.
-
- Pages 6-7: "Furthermore, the incorporation of sludge
into the 9 inch plow layer, which is standard for land application practices,
would provide sufficient dilution within the soil."
-
- NOT TRUE - DAIRY PASTURES, HAY FIELDS AND GRAZING LANDS
ARE TRADITIONALLY TOP-DRESSED -- THE SLUDGE IS NOT INCORPORATED . . . .
. .
-
- *********************
-
- All things considered, I sincerely hope that none of
you muck around in composting abattoir wastes.
-
- Respectfully submitted,
- Helane Shields, Alton, NH 03809
- Sludge Researcher since 1996
-
- Patricia A. Doyle, PhD
- Please visit my "Emerging Diseases"
message board at: http://www.clickitnews.com/ubbthreads/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=emergingdiseases
- Zhan le Devlesa tai sastimasa
- Go with God and in Good Health
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