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matelot1965  
#1 Posted : 02 July 2022 14:34:13(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
matelot1965

Hello All,

I need to carry out a COSHH assessment for abattoir effluent for our waste water treatment plant. I am looking at following the HSE guidance on sewage.

I intend to follow the HSE guidance on working with sewage as I think sewage and effluent are one and the same thing

indg198.pdf (hse.gov.uk)

Would this be the right approach ? Hope so as I am struggling to find other resource to work with

Edited by user 02 July 2022 14:36:03(UTC)  | Reason: word omission

Roundtuit  
#2 Posted : 03 July 2022 09:42:29(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Roundtuit

Given sewage is about things the community flush and effluent is about the liquid discharge from a process you may find yourself heading down a blind alley.

Wouldn't your assessement actually be a merge of the assessemnts relating to the internal operations of the abbatoir - carcas preapartion, butchery, offal handling, area clean down & disinfection?

These would not necessarily be happening at the same time meaning the influent of your waste water treatment plant will vary dependent upon time & day.

thanks 2 users thanked Roundtuit for this useful post.
matelot1965 on 03/07/2022(UTC), matelot1965 on 03/07/2022(UTC)
Roundtuit  
#3 Posted : 03 July 2022 09:42:29(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Roundtuit

Given sewage is about things the community flush and effluent is about the liquid discharge from a process you may find yourself heading down a blind alley.

Wouldn't your assessement actually be a merge of the assessemnts relating to the internal operations of the abbatoir - carcas preapartion, butchery, offal handling, area clean down & disinfection?

These would not necessarily be happening at the same time meaning the influent of your waste water treatment plant will vary dependent upon time & day.

thanks 2 users thanked Roundtuit for this useful post.
matelot1965 on 03/07/2022(UTC), matelot1965 on 03/07/2022(UTC)
Kate  
#4 Posted : 03 July 2022 15:46:37(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Kate

Sewage and effluent are not really one and the same thing - sewage is one very specific type of effluent.  The term "effluent" covers any liquid discharge by a process, not necessarily biological in origin.  The effluent from your process isn't the same as sewage.

I am sure there are parallels between sewage and the effluent you are dealing with, and there is probably useful information to be had from guidance on sewage.  But it isn't the same, so following the sewage guidance blindly wouldn't be good enough.

thanks 2 users thanked Kate for this useful post.
matelot1965 on 03/07/2022(UTC), stevedm on 04/07/2022(UTC)
matelot1965  
#5 Posted : 03 July 2022 21:38:56(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
matelot1965

Thanks both back to the drawing board lol

stevedm  
#6 Posted : 04 July 2022 07:22:02(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
stevedm

I have used this as a basis for the assessment around some of the sites where we have a treatment plant...

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212371721000093

thanks 1 user thanked stevedm for this useful post.
matelot1965 on 04/07/2022(UTC)
HSSnail  
#7 Posted : 04 July 2022 08:26:53(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
HSSnail

If i am reading your email correctly i think your main concerns may be Zoonoses and food poisioning bacteria (such as possibly Ecoli  0157 - this may help.

Zoonoses - Agriculture - HSE

Not sure about once it gets into your treatment work, if there are any chemicals etc involved.

thanks 1 user thanked HSSnail for this useful post.
matelot1965 on 04/07/2022(UTC)
A Kurdziel  
#8 Posted : 04 July 2022 11:39:02(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
A Kurdziel

I think that the general consensus is that the term “effluent” be best used to describe the liquid bi-products of a process. In the case of an abattoir I imagine that this will consist of blood, other bodily fluids, and general washings etc. it would certainly be full of biological agents and need to be managed as a hazardous substances   under COSHH.  What happens then a question the answer to which I am not sure. I am assuming that the effluent  is eventually treated before it enters the common sewer? Is this by heating or the addition of disinfecting agents? I assume that the effluent cannot be discharged directly to the sewers? Is there a minimum standard for the discharge of effluent.   I suspect that it will be based on the presence of indicator species rather than actual pathogens- for example most types of E.coli are harmless, but coliforms do indicate the possible presence of other more harmful species, which might be more difficult to detect and  measure in  the effluent.

How quick is the treatment of the abattoir  waste? Is the waste collected in a tank and treated batchwise? If the is the case you should remember that the liquor will form a fairly good environment for the  multiplication of microorganisms: so the longer the stuff is kept the more of a bacterial load  it will present.  

thanks 1 user thanked A Kurdziel for this useful post.
matelot1965 on 04/07/2022(UTC)
matelot1965  
#9 Posted : 04 July 2022 21:13:48(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
matelot1965

Hi All,

Thanks to those posted responses today. As described Zoonoses is an issue and why I am undertaking the assessment. I already have a Zoonoses COSHH assessment in place for the abattoir itself. Regarding the treatment plant. It operates via pumps which push the animal by products blood, organs, fat etc from the abattoir to the treatment plant. Machinery then separates the solids from the water. The solids are disposed of as animal waste. The water is then treated with chemicals to neutralise the PH before being fed into the sewer. Our water supplier tests what we put into the sewer weekly to ensure the PH is neutral and that we only discharge into the sewer at a rate what we are permitted to currently 5litres/sec.

Next question DSEAR post coming up lol

A Kurdziel  
#10 Posted : 05 July 2022 09:50:25(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
A Kurdziel

“ The water is then treated with chemicals to neutralise the pH before being fed into the sewer.” Interesting that all the water regulator seems to care about is the pH and that no attempt is made to disinfect the water or measure what the bacterial load might be. I guess that they are assuming that sewage plant down the line will be able to cope with the effluent’s bacterial loading before discharging it into the nearest river. 

Roundtuit  
#11 Posted : 05 July 2022 10:13:07(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Roundtuit

Originally Posted by: A Kurdziel Go to Quoted Post
Interesting that all the water regulator seems to care about is the pH

With it entering a foul sewer there is already a high bacterial load from all the consumer flushing flowing through the pipes.

The issue for the treatment works is pH shock (sudden swing to acidic or alkali) as this stops the treatment works bacteria working effectivley resulting in them having discharge quality problems

Roundtuit  
#12 Posted : 05 July 2022 10:13:07(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Roundtuit

Originally Posted by: A Kurdziel Go to Quoted Post
Interesting that all the water regulator seems to care about is the pH

With it entering a foul sewer there is already a high bacterial load from all the consumer flushing flowing through the pipes.

The issue for the treatment works is pH shock (sudden swing to acidic or alkali) as this stops the treatment works bacteria working effectivley resulting in them having discharge quality problems

A Kurdziel  
#13 Posted : 05 July 2022 11:10:43(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
A Kurdziel

That makes sense it just I have worked in places where people agonise about putting anything down the drains and the idea of  such a potential heavy bacterial load going down the sewer surprises me.  

peter gotch  
#14 Posted : 05 July 2022 12:00:30(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
peter gotch

Hi matelot1965

To quote you - "back to the drawing board"!

Are you confident that the process is appropriate in terms of environmental protection going forward? - which is not necessarily the same as what the regulator might be currently demanding - you will presumably be aware that the water companies are under lots of pressure to do far more to stop inadequately treated waste water reaching water courses.

So, it might be only a matter of time before the discharge consent licence is tightened.

If the process is right from an environmental perspective it is likely that mostly it will be enclosed - which would solve most of the COSHH type issues as an integral part of the solution.

So possibly this is one to ask a waste water engineering specialist?

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