Abstract
Seven operational mishaps were specified on the basis of a questionnaire on wastewater treatment plants, some of them large. In this study a process was developed for screening the chemical spill risks to municipal biological sewage treatment plant. Data on wastewater treatment processes, potential spill sources and chemical properties were combined to determine the threshold chemical quantities which may inhibit the removal of carbonaceous material, prevent nitrification and methanogenesis, cause sludge contamination or lead to the aeration capacity being exceeded. Two sewage treatment plants and eleven industrial sites were chosen for field studies. The influence of spill duration and maintenance activities on threshold quantities are discussed. A field survey lasting 1-2 hours at each site was long enough for the most relevant data to be obtained when the screening method developed was applied. Several chemical spill risks to the plants studied were specified. In addition, cases were identified in which failure of the pretreatment facilities for industrial wastewaters could cause severe mishaps at a biological wastewater treatment plant.
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