Neil Zahradka

Neil Zahradka is the Manager of the Office of Land Application Programs for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. "Land application" means spreading sewage sludge -- euphemistically called "biosolids" -- on soil. Zahradka is also the Virginia state contact for the National Biosolids Partnership of the Water Environment Federation, the sewage sludge industry's main trade, lobby and public relations organization.

Zahradka is a proponent of using sewage sludge on soil used to grow food. He told NPR in 2013 that it's hard to prove that "biosolids" are a significant source of contaminants. "These compounds are ubiquitous in the environment -- in the soil, water, within our bodies. So the question is: If it's in the biosolids, then is that a problem?" he asked. And he contended that "composting" -- mixing raw sewage with mulch and allowing the pile to heat up -- eliminates contaminants. But sewage sludge contains many hazardous chemicals that could not be mitigated by what the industry refers euphemistically to as a "composting" process. See Scientific Studies of Sewage Sludge for more.

Contact Information
Neil Zahradka Manager, Office of Land Application Programs Virginia Department of Environmental Quality 629 E. Main Street P.O. Box 1105 Richmond, VA 23218-1105 Telephone: (804) 698-4102 Fax: (804) 698-4116 Email: nrzahradka AT deq DOT virginia DOT gov

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * Sewage sludge
 * Biosolids
 * You say biosolids, I say sewage sludge
 * Water Environment Federation
 * Scientific Studies of Sewage Sludge
 * Sludge contaminants

Related PRWatch Articles

 * Sara Jerving, New Toxic Sludge PR and Lobbying Effort Gets Underway, PRWatch.org, March 16, 2012.
 * Rebekah Wilce, Sludge Industry Reveals "Resource Recovery" Spin, PRWatch.org, December 15, 2011.
 * Richardson, Would You "Like" Sewage Sludge on Facebook, PRWatch.org, September 12, 2011.
 * John Stauber, Gavin Newsom Hopes to Leave His Sludge in San Francisco, PRWatch.org, July 27, 2010.
 * John Stauber, Chez Sludge: How the Sewage Sludge Industry Bedded Alice Waters, PRWatch.org, July 9, 2010.
 * John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton, A R.O.S.E. by Any Other Name, PRWatch, Third Quarter 1995, Volume 2, No. 3.