Hello,
My name is Patrick Loewen. I am living in Luxembourg, in a small town called Lintgen. I am a member of
our local environment commission. I need an advice on something that happened a month ago.
A neighboring sewage plant had her sludge bring out on several fields on top of a hill near Lintgen. This was
authorized by the environment administration, as analyses showed no metal or bacteriological contamination.
But several people in Lintgen worried about the quantity of sludge that was brought out. They protested at
the environment administration. This one did another analyse at the sewage plant 2 weeks later. This analyse
showed a Salmonella infection of the sludge. Was it already contaminated as it was brought out? No one
could give an answer.
Now, many people worry, because on the foot of this hill is a fountain where Lintgen gets its drinkeng water
from. The administration says that the sludge was not brought out in the water protection zones, but they
are small because of the agricultural activity on the hill.
My questions are:
Can Salmonella survive in the soil and contaminate the groundwater?
If not, is there any danger of bringing out Salmonella in this way?
Should we convince our municipality to prevent future sludge bring outs?
You would really help me if you can give me answers.
Thank you
Patrick Loewen
75121.677 at compuserve.com
