-Environmental Update (October 2009)

Abattoir Fined for Waste Breaches

A beef, pork and lamb abattoir has been fined nearly £28,000 after admitting breaching trade effluent limits.
Any liquid waste from a business that is to be discharged to sewer, surface or ground water, or onto land, is known as trade effluent unless it is domestic sewage or clean, uncontaminated surface water.
The Surrey-based abattoir admitted 10 counts of breaching trade effluent concentration limits and one of failing to install and maintain equipment to measure effluent discharges.
Guildford magistrates imposed fines of £2,500 for each of the effluent breaches with a further £2,680 penalty for the remaining offence. Legal costs of £1,242 and investigation fees of £4,384 were also awarded to Thames Water, who brought the prosecution under the Water Industry Act 1991 after tests found that the abattoir, between July 2007 and April 2008, had put more than the permitted levels of certain substances down its drains.
Levels of ammonia nitrogen, a compound found in urine, were found on one occasion to be up to 9 times higher than they should have been. Settleable solids, including bone particles, hooves and gristle, were recorded up to more than 5 times the allowed limit, while fat and oil from the carcasses were 7 times the permitted levels on one occasion

This case serves as a warning to other companies that the regulators will not hesitate to take action if a business is disposing illegal levels of waste into the sewerage system.