Abstract
The car wash business has developed rapidly in recent years due to the increased number of cars, thus, it can cause serious environmental problems considering its potential source of pollution. The aim of this study was to characterize the wastewater from car washing companies in the city of Campina Grande, in Paraiba state, and to analyze the environmental impacts generated. A survey was conducted from November 2009 to July 2010. The first step we present a survey of car wash businesses in the city, and identified 20 licensed companies in which we evaluated the number of vehicles washed per week, the existence of a system of pre-treatment of wastewater generated and infrastructure that would allow the realization of the collection of samples of the effluent, the second step was carried out chemical and physical characterization of wastewater from five 20 companies surveyed in the previous step, and third stage were measured pollution loads of wastewater from washing of vehicles in the city, from the results obtained in previous steps. The characterization parameters were analyzed: oil and grease, COD, heavy metals, TS, TSS, turbidity, TKN, total P, pH and color. The results demonstrated that the wastewater from the car wash establishments shows high concentrations of organic matter, oils and grease, heavy metals and solids, and as such did not conform with the specific environmental legislation. Evaluation of pollutant loads demonstrated that if releases without proper treatment, it can cause serious environmental problems. It is therefore essential that these establishments are properly monitored.
Highlights
Como a lavagem de veículos é uma atividade impactante ao meio ambiente, a instalação e funcionamento desse tipo de empreendimento requer o licenciamento ambiental, que deve estar em concordância com os seguintes diplomas legais: Constituição Federal, art. 225; Lei no 6.938, de 31 de agosto de 1981
The first step we present a survey of car wash businesses in the city, and identified 20 licensed companies in which we evaluated the number of vehicles washed per week, the existence of a system of pre-treatment of wastewater generated and infrastructure that would allow the realization of the collection of samples of the effluent, the second step was carried out chemical and physical characterization of wastewater from five 20 companies surveyed in the previous step, and third stage were measured pollution loads of wastewater from washing of vehicles in the city, from the results obtained in previous steps
The results demonstrated that the wastewater from the car wash establishments shows high concentrations of organic matter, oils and grease, heavy metals and solids, and as such did not conform with the specific environmental legislation
Summary
Estudos realizados em diferentes partes do mundo vêm demonstrando o potencial poluidor das águas residuárias oriundas dos serviços de lavagem de veículos, por conterem surfactantes, óleos e graxas, alta concentração de matéria orgânica, metais pesados, sólidos totais suspensos (Brown, 2000; Smith e Shilley, 2009). No caso específico das empresas de lavagem de veículos, para a liberação da licença ambiental, conforme a mesma resolução, compete ao órgão responsável exigir o tratamento prévio com a instalação de caixa de areia e caixa separadora de água e óleo, como forma de reduzir os poluentes presentes no efluente produzido por esses serviços. O município de Campina Grande, localizado na microrregião e na mesorregião do agreste paraibano, apesar de apresentar população de 385 mil habitantes, sendo considerado como um município de médio porte (IBGE, 2010), com índice de desenvolvimento humano (IDH) de 0,718 (PNUD, 2005), exercendo grande influência política e econômica sobre os demais municípios do Estado; e, no ano de 2006, já ter em torno de 40 empresas de lavagem de veículos, (Costa et al, 2007), atualmente tem apenas uma Coordenadoria de Meio Ambiente, não realizando o licenciamento ambiental e não tendo nenhuma lei municipal específica para as empresas de lavagem de veículos da cidade. O objetivo deste trabalho consiste em caracterizar as águas residuárias provenientes de empresas de lavagem de veículos da cidade de Campina Grande, no estado da Paraíba, e avaliar os impactos ambientais gerados por elas
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