Does the wastewater from your factory really meet the discharge standards?
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These days, many factories claim that their manufacturing processes are excellent and that their wastewater discharge meets all the required standards. Is that true? Let me start by talking about my own experience. I used to work at a smelting plant where the processes and equipment were highly advanced. Theoretically, the wastewater met all the discharge standards, but in reality, the arsenic content in that wastewater did not meet the required levels at all. So what to do? Of course, it has to be discharged secretly; when inspections come, the wastewater is kept in the tank and discharged at night. Everyone in the factory knows about this, but does the inspection team not? ? ? Regarding this phenomenon, my own opinion is as follows: 1. Enterprises and employees must first set strict standards for themselves and must not sacrifice the environment for their own interests ； 2. The relevant inspection departments should act in a realistic manner; inspections should be carried out suddenly, without prior notice. Regarding pollution control, it is not about preventing damage after it has already been caused; rather, prevention should be the focus, with measures taken at the source to stop it from occurring in the first place! Let’s talk about our own situations and the relevant solutions!
Inspections are a good thing, but now every company has spies in the environmental protection agencies; before the inspection team even arrives, the companies have already taken all necessary measures, so the inspection is pointless
For domestic companies, it’s mostly about putting on a show; surprise inspections don’t serve much purpose. For foreign companies, complying with standards and regulations is part of their routine. . . .
If leaders all listened to Haiyou, the world would have been harmonious long ago. :Lol, making efforts to improve the manufacturing processes and reducing the amount of wastewater and waste discharged by even 0.1% would be a tremendous achievement!
For manufacturers that are truly committed to meeting the standards, achieving compliance is not a problem; nowadays many manufacturers require the installation of online detectors and cameras, and large-scale manufacturers can generally meet the treatment requirements. Small manufacturers in these sectors, due to insufficient funding for pollution control measures and an inability to bear the operating costs, often treat such control facilities as mere decorations. This is a result of inadequate supervision by environmental protection authorities or corruption; it harms the health of ordinary people. Such manufacturers should be punished or even shut down outright.
Our company has installed online TOC and COD monitoring systems, and our emissions are generally within acceptable limits. The key lies in the company’s investment and the top management’s awareness of these issues
There was a problem with the internet just now, so it was sent again; I’m sorry
What’s being processed now surely meets the standards. The key issue is that environmental regulations prohibit the discharge of arsenic-containing wastewater under any circumstances; can you ensure that this isn’t done? If part of the water is reused, then the remaining part will have to be discharged illegally.
The key is to see if one has this ability? Our wastewater treatment plant has a processing capacity of 350 m3/h, but currently it is only handling 100 m3/h, so it’s no problem at all; however, it’s hard to say what will happen if the volume of wastewater increases
If checked according to strict regulations, not many can truly meet the standards
Do no companies, domestic or foreign, have managed to solve the problem of arsenic emissions? Is it a lack of technology or funds in domestic companies? Or do their leaders lack a sense of social responsibility?!
Our company reduces emissions; we have our own wastewater treatment plant that operates properly and meets the emission standards. The volume of wastewater treated isn’t very large. Now, online monitors and cameras are in place, so it’s difficult to carry out illegal discharges.
In fact, technology is also lacking; the technologies used for wastewater treatment are not very advanced at present. Many useful substances can be extracted from wastewater, but due to outdated technology, this isn’t being done.
The treatment performance of our plant is fairly good, but I think the set standards for the treated water are a bit too high. A COD level of 150 mg/l and an ammonia nitrogen level of 70 mg/l are sufficient to meet the requirements. However, after more than a year of operation, the plant is no longer able to handle the designed volume of water – the design capacity is 3000 m3/day, but currently it can only handle around 1000 m3/day. Additionally, the plant cannot handle high loads; if the quality of the incoming water is poor, the treatment efficiency drops, and the quality of the wastewater discharged does not meet the standards. The safety and environmental protection department enforces strict rules – any discharge from the chemical processing area requires a report, and only after approval from this department, in coordination with the production department, can the discharge take place within a specified time frame, usually between 0.5 and 2 hours. The north is currently experiencing drought and low rainfall, which has turned industrial water use into a problem. As a result, recycled water is being utilized, but the results are not very satisfactory because the quality of the water obtained from this process is not good. The use of reverse osmosis membranes for treating recycled water can easily lead to contamination; therefore, cleaning these membranes is necessary as part of regular operations – they need to be cleaned online every about 2 months, which is a fairly high frequency. Every time the environmental protection agency comes for an inspection, the people in our factory’s safety and environment department are aware of it and prepare in advance to prevent water from being discharged outside the workshop. Besides, there’s no water to discharge anyway, haha.
Protecting the environment should involve the whole population; businesses play a key role in this process. However, the costs associated with treating wastewater or exhaust gases are very high, and small businesses generally cannot afford such expenses. If the benefits are not good, it becomes even more difficult to bear the environmental protection costs, so direct emission becomes the simplest option. However, large companies in China pay close attention to environmental protection these days; this is mainly due to strict regulations, and state-owned enterprises need to consider their corporate image, thus making every effort to protect the environment.
My group company has several smaller enterprises with limited capabilities; they do not have the means to install wastewater treatment equipment on their own. However, thanks to the support of the group company, they have been able to install such equipment, and it operates very well – the treated water is even good enough for raising goldfish. This is all true.
I’m not sure if it meets the standards, but they are often seen taking samples for analysis on a regular basis, and our emissions are strictly controlled.
Internal processing meets the standards; with **online monitoring, failures to meet the standards hardly occur. However, it has a significant impact on the economic efficiency of enterprises, and the environmental protection-related operating costs are high.
Currently, very few entities actually meet the emission standards. For a company, profitability is of utmost importance, while investments in environmental protection yield no returns; therefore, companies will emit pollutants whenever possible. Additionally, the environmental protection agencies fail to carry out some of their duties properly.
The so-called inspections are just a formality; as long as the follow-up work is done properly, there will be no problems. Most of those who were investigated did so because they gave too few gifts