• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

'Walls of fat' removed from sewers OF....

Status
Not open for further replies.

Gaborn

Member
fat-tunnel_412685t.jpg


Enough fat to fill nine double-decker buses is being removed from sewers under London's Leicester Square.

A team of "flushers" equipped with full breathing apparatus has been drafted in with shovels to dig out an estimated 1,000 tonnes of putrid fat.

And powerful jets are being used to break it down.


The operation, which began in the early hours of this morning, is claimed to be the largest-ever sewer clean-up of its kind.

The build-up is the result of years of "sewer abuse" - when anything other than water, human waste and toilet paper is put down drains - according to Thames Water.

Danny Brackley, the water company's sewer flusher, said: "We're used to getting our hands dirty, but nothing on this scale.

"We couldn't even access the sewer as it was blocked by a four-foot wall of solid fat."

The clean-up is expected to last a couple of weeks.


Thames Water spends £12 million a year clearing around 55,000 sewer blockages across London and the Thames Valley.

Story Here
 

dalin80

Banned
The Lamonster said:
How does fat get in the sewers?


same way as everything else but the rest of the material washes away while the fat is sticky and doesnt dissolve.

think of it as a scaled up artery.
 

Freshmaker

I am Korean.
The Lamonster said:
How does fat get in the sewers?
Folks dumping bacon grease or any kind of similar fat down the drain rather than tossing it in the trash. That's why restaurants are required to have grease traps etc.
 
People think I'm gross because I let my dog lick my pots, pans, and dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. But he is actually protecting my pipes from unnecessary damage.
 

jonremedy

Member
This is also a product of people washing themselves. You know when you go a day or two without washing your hair and it gets greasy? And then you take a shower, and it's nice and not greasy any more? Guess where that stuff goes...
 

mokeyjoe

Member
I saw something like this on TV a while back, where they were following sewer workers around. They were disposing of the fat and there was a big wall of fat and it was full of holes where rats had burrowed in and made nests.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom