CONTROL OF EFFLUENTS IN STEEL PRODUCTION - WASTE-WATER DISCHARGES AT BRITISH-STEEL PORT TALBOT

The steel industry is a major user of water, and British Steel Port Ta lbot discharges similar to 50 000 t of wastewater to sea per day. Wast ewater discharges are receiving increased attention from the Environme nt Agency, and in the future discharge consents will be supplemented b y direct toxicity assessment. To facilitate improvements in wastewater quality, discharges need to be better understood. The operation of th e effluent system and the wastewater discharges from the major process es have been investigated. The concentration of soluble and insoluble chromium, zinc, cadmium, lead, nickel, copper, manganese, aluminium, a nd iron have been determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emis sion spectrometry. Detailed investigation of wastewaters from the blas t furnaces, BOS plant, and cold mill has been undertaken. (C) 1998 The Institute of Materials.