The content, behaviour and significance of heavy metals in composted waste materials is important from two potentially conflicting aspects of environmental legislation in terms of: (a) defining end-of-waste criteria and increasing recycling of composted residuals on land and (b) protecting soil quality by preventing contamination. This review examines the effects of heavy metals in compost and ...

Alkane degrading microorganisms play an important role for the bioremediation of petrogenic contaminated environments. In this study, we investigated the effects of compost addition on the abundance and diversity of bacteria harboring the alkane monooxygenase gene (alkB) in an oil-contaminated soil originated from an industrial zone in Celje, Slovenia (Technosol). Soil without any amendments (c...

Many foodborne outbreaks of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection have been associated with the consumption of contaminated vegetables. On-farm contaminations through contaminated manure or irrigation water application were considered likely sources of the pathogen for several outbreaks. Field studies were done to determine the survival of E. coli O157:H7 on two subterranean crop...

Lead poisoning of waterfowl from direct ingestion of wetland mine tailings has been reported at the Coeur d'Alene River basin in Idaho. A greenhouse study was conducted to evaluate the effects of surface applications of amendments on lead bioavailability in the tailings. Treatments included sediment only, and sediment with three different surface amendments: (i) biosolids compost plus wood ash,...

This study investigated the chemical characteristics and microbial population during incubation of four kinds of aerated compost teas based on oriental medicinal herbs compost, vermicompost, rice straw compost, and mixtures of three composts (MOVR). It aimed to determine the effects of the aerated compost tea (ACT) based on MOVR on the growth promotion of red leaf lettuce, soybean and sweet cor...

A stable compost is needed in plant growth media. However, when compost is land applied, its effect is through the initiation and acceleration of microbial processes leading to the production of soil stabilizing agents. It was proposed that there is an optimum degree of maturity of compost used for land application, a degree characterized by the reduction of the labile organic matter to a point...

The recycling of livestock manure in cropping systems is considered to enhance soil fertility and crop productivity. However, there have been no systematic long-term studies of the effects of manure application on soil and crop macro- and micro-nutrients, heavy metals, and crop yields in China, despite their great importance for sustainable crop production and food safety. Thus, we conducted fi...

Establishing a simple yet reliable compost stability test is essential for a better compost quality control and utilization efficiency. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between extractable organic carbon (OC) and compost stability based on 18 compost samples from five composting facilities. The compost samples were extracted sequentially with water for 2 h [water(2h)]...