UK industry in danger of flushing money and reputation down the drain
March 19th 2007

UK industry is in danger of flushing money and its reputation down the drain by not complying with machine effluent regulations and claims of ignorance will not wash with prosecutors trying to tighten machine effluent regulations, warns an industry expert.

Many companies using surface preparation equipment are failing to comply with UK legislation, by flushing contaminated machine effluent down the drain claims Colin Worthington, General Manager for the Vibratory Mass Finishing Division at Wheelabrator Group at a waste management seminar in Birmingham.

“Effluent from vibratory mass finishing equipment is made up of the original process water and compound, contaminated by metal fines, broken down media, oil and other debris on the components being processed," said Mr Worthington.

“Together this can potentially be a toxic mix, capable of causing extensive environmental damage, and, quite rightly, washing this down the drain contravenes UK regulations. Businesses actively flouting the rules are at risk of heavy fines and must accept the damage this is likely to cause to their reputations when they get caught.“

Mr Worthington warned delegates that all industrial users of mass finishing and associated process equipment must apply for an official consent to discharge to drain, issued by the local water authority.

This will relate to foul sewers, not storm water drains, and set out acceptable effluent discharge levels, including nature and composition of the effluent, ph levels, chemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, and temperature, among other things. It will also include a trade effluent charge, calculated by using a method known as the Mogden Formula.

“Historically this has been an area of low awareness in the UK, but ignorance is no excuse with the authorities increasingly clamping down on companies blatantly disregarding the rules," points out Mr Worthington.

“Discharging untreated effluent from vibratory mass finishing became illegal after the 1991 Water Industry Act was introduced. If you don’t apply for official consent, the only legal option is to containerise the liquor and employ the services of an officially-licensed waste management and treatment company, but this can be expensive, inconvenient and inflexible.”

Mr Worthington advised delegates the most cost effective option was to operate under an official consent agreement, treating effluent before it was discharged, to maintain limits within the set parameters and therefore incur only a minimal local authority charge. 

He then talked delegates through an overview of centrifugal systems, based on filters, which are capable of removing up to 99 per cent of solids from process water, enabling full process recycling.

“Centrifugal systems have been developed in the last 10 years and use high g forces to remove sludge. They are compact and easily automated, making them a simple and cost-effective addition to existing machinery," explained Mr Worthington.

“The environmental benefits of considered machine effluent treatment are two-fold. Not only is it better not to discharge effluent in the first place, but recycling techniques can help reduce water and process compound consumption, which will in turn save money.

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