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  • From: Mark Nagel <activism98201@verizon.net>
  • To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Greywater chemistry
  • Date: Sat, 03 Jun 2006 13:07:45 -0500 (CDT)

Just because people have done something for a long time doesn't mean that
they are doing it correctly.

At one point in time folks worshiped crocodiles and likely did for some time
(before they finally sucummbed to the inevitable), but that didn't make such
practices wise.

Some Asian people have, and still do, use "night soils." They toss out their
human body wastes directly on their crops. This is NOT a way to discourage
disease! However, it's quite possible that folks just don't have the time to
process their wastes appropriately before re-introducing them to the soil...

>From Jenkin's first edition of The Humanure handbook
>(http://www.weblife.org/humanure/chapter7_2.html):

For example, consider the following quote from Jervis (1990): "The use of
night soil [raw human fecal material and urine] as fertilizer is not without
its health hazards. Hepatitis B is prevalent in Dacaiyuan [China], as it is
in the rest of China. Some effort is being made to chemically treat
[humanure] or at least to mix it with other ingredients before it is applied
to the fields. But chemicals are expensive, and old ways die hard. Night soil
is one reason why urban Chinese are so scrupulous about peeling fruit, and
why raw vegetables are not part of the diet. Negative features aside, one has
only to look at satellite photos of the green belt that surrounds China's
cities to understand the value of night soil."

Refer to the chapter "Asian Recycling"
(http://www.weblife.org/humanure/chapter4_2.html) for more info.


>From the chapter "MICROHUSBANDRY"
>(http://www.weblife.org/humanure/chapter3.html):

Thermophilic composting is the fourth way to deal with human excrement. This
type of composting involves the cultivation of heat-loving (thermophilic)
microorganisms in the composting process. Thermophilic microorganisms, such
as bacteria and fungi, can create an environment in the compost which
destroys disease organisms that can exist in humanure, converting humanure
into a friendly, pleasant-smelling, humus safe for food gardens.
Thermophilically composted humanure is entirely different from night soil.
Perhaps it is better stated by the experts in the field: "From a survey of
the literature of night soil treatment, it can be clearly concluded that the
only fail-safe night soil method which will assure effective and essentially
total pathogen inactivation, including the most resistant helminths
[intestinal worms] such as Ascaris [roundworm] eggs and all other bacterial
and viral pathogens, is heat treatment to a temperature of 55° to 60°C for
several hours." 3 The experts are specifically referring to the heat of the
compost pile.


55 - 60 degrees Celsius works out to be 131 - 140 degrees Fahrenheit. NOTE:
In a previous e-mail I had suggested that a temperature above 160 degree
Fahrenheit was what was required.


-Mark Nagel
Everett, WA


=====================
From: A Deville <dreadkali@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat Jun 03 06:06:19 CDT 2006
To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Greywater chemistry



Grow19@aol.com wrote: perhaps i also don't know enough about this,
but find it irresponsible to suggest that using human or animal waste
directly on a garden is a safe thing to do. best to compost it separately
for a couple of years, and use the compost after that. judy
tiger_______________________________________________

Greetings Judy,
With no disrepect,prehaps you do not know enough in reference to this
subject.......Why not ask the "Asian" people, or better still read Kings
"farmers of 40 centuries. And you may try really understanding just what
"Mother nature" does with her many wastes! Peace and Light..".Gaiamon"






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