ABSTRACT
In the so-called Sewage Sludge Ordinance which is in force in the Federal Republic of Germany since 1 April 1983 it is enacted that sewage which is considered to be hygienically unsafe is not allowed to be utilized on pasture and forage land beginning with 1 January of 1987. But the legislator did not give an exact definition of the conditions under which a sludge is considered to be hygienically safe like it was done in Switzerland where a sludge is considered to be hygienically safe when it has less than 100 enterobacteriaceae in 1 gram and no infectious parasitic stages. In the German Sludge Ordinance it is only said that a sludge is safe which was by chemical or thermal conditioning, thermal drying, heating, composting, chemical stabilization or another treatment rendered free of pathogens. No definition is given how the term “rendered free of pathogens” must be proved in the daily practice. Therefore each institute in this country which is involved in the hygienic control of sewage sludges is using its own methods and definitions. But the Upper House of Parliament demanded that this loop-hole should be filled within 5 years after the validity of the ordinance. Therefore our Ministry of the Interior will appoint an ad-hoc committee in the very near future to work on a proposal to fill this gap in the ordinance. There is no doubt that it will be no problem to come to an agreement for a respective definition as far as bacteria and viruses are concerned with all the expertise which is assembled in national and international committees, especially in our Working Party 3.
