Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

My science fair project has been borderline classified between BSL 1 and 2. Science fair committee requires a new procedure to make sure I am not contaminating my classmates. This requires me to think of a proper ways to dispose the manure other than placing them in a 10% bleach solution for an hour or composting for garden fertilizer. Any suggestions???

You did not specify what kind of manure you are talking about. Dung from herbivores does not usually contain human pathogens or parasites. Feces from mammals such as dogs and cats, however, can be highly dangerous and should be treated very carefully.

When we want to be sure all microbes, viruses, spores and parasites in biological waste are killed we autoclave it, but i am assuming you do not have access to an autoclave. If you live in the country where people are allowed to burn leaves and garden trimmings outdoors you could simply burn the manure along with the waste.

Letting the manure stand for an hour or preferably overnight in 20% Clorox (10 ounces of Clorox plus 40 ounces of warm water) will kill pretty much everything.

Any more questions, please let us know.

Sybee

Hi Thank you for responding!

I will be using horse manure. Now my teacher has explained to me that simply placing a whole lot of Clorox in manure will only cause more of a hazard, and that burning the manure is out of the question. Since the manure from herbivores does not have pathogens can it be treated to be safe?

Hi,

You are welcome!

The final decision is up to your teacher. I think it depends on what you plan to do with the manure. I have cleaned out horse stalls on occasion to get the straw and manure for my compost pile and I have never heard of any human pathogens associated with it. If you have allergies you could wear a particle mask and non-latex gloves while handling it. For disposal you could just dig it into the garden or take it out into the woods and bury it there. It will break down naturally and fertilize the soil.

If you give us more information about your hypothesis and experiments we could answer your questions better and perhaps suggest alternatives that would be more satisfactory to everyone.

Sybee