Yahoo News Britain's biggest fatberg is more than 250m long and full of congealed fat and wet wipes
A one-off documentary has revealed the disgusting make-up of what is thought to be Britain’s biggest fatberg to date.
The programme analysed the contents of the monster blockage, which is thought to be even bigger than the famous Whitechapel fatberg, which itself measured 250m in length and weighed a staggering 130 tonnes.
In a world first, the latest humongous fatberg extracted from near the South Bank in central London was forensically analysed to reveal congealed fat, wet wipes and human waste.
The results of the analysis, carried out with Thames Water, are revealed in a one-off programme, Fatberg Autopsy: Secrets of the Sewers, to offer insight into the growing urban crisis of fatbergs.
According to the analysis, nearly 90% of fats in the fatberg were made up of fats and grease from cooking, including palmitic acid, commonly found in cooking oil, and oleic acid found in olive oil, while a small quantity of fats come from personal hygiene and beauty products.
Water companies continue to advise members of the public to not dispose of oils and fats down the sink, with Thames Water running a “bin it, don’t block it” campaign to discourage customers and commercial food outlets from throwing cooking fats down the drain.
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The fatberg, like many others found up and down the country, was also extensively made up of wet wipes – which don’t break down in the same way as toilet roll.
Civil engineering consultant Andy Drinkwater from the WRc said: “the fat sticks to the side of the pipe, the wet wipes come down and stick on the fat, other fat comes down and sticks to the wet wipes and that adds to the mass of the fatberg”.
Tests for dangerous bacteria in the fatberg also found listeria, campylobacter and E.coli, as well as ‘superbugs’ which can pose a risk to those who work in sewers and even to the public if there is a sewer blockage.
Thames Water waste networks manager Alex Saunders said: “We and other water companies are facing a constant battle to keep the nation’s sewers free from fatbergs and other blockages.
“For the sake of our sewer workers like Vince and the other guys who feature in the show please only flush the three Ps (pee, poo and toilet paper) and don’t feed the fatberg.”
The fatberg autopsy also shed some light on people’s contact with street drugs and other pharmaceuticals, revealing intact drugs-related items like ‘baggies’, a needle and a syringe – a discovery that presenter Rick Edwards dubbed “a sobering window into the lives of people living above the sewer”.
The forensic analysis of the sample found chemical traces of a cocktail of drugs, including: salicylic acid, commonly found in topical creams for acne; paracetamol; hordenine and ostarine, both of which can be found in performance enhancing sports supplements and other drugs like cocaine, MDMA, ketamine, morphine and amphetamines.
Dr John said there’s no way of knowing if the chemicals have been consumed or flushed down the toilet, but the results offered insights into the drugs people interact with in modern society.
Fatberg Autopsy: Secrets of the Sewers airs tonight at 9pm on Channel 4.
