COURSE: Industrial Wastewater Management (ESHS-614)

The environmental manager at the Wepollute Chemical Company, which manufactures methylethylstuff (MES), an organic chemical, wants to develop a sampling and analysis plan in order to identify:

(A) where their product, MES, is being discharged to the sewer (obviously, this is money down the drain); and

(B) why there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of nickel being discharged to the POTW.

The three, parallel chemical manufacturing processes that each make MES discharge wastewater into the main industrial sewer system at a three different locations in the facility. (See the block flow diagram below.)These processes discharge suspended solids and nickel as well as MES into the sewer. The chemical plant operates two shifts, 5-days a week. During the day shift (7 am to 3 pm), all three production lines are operating. During the evening shift (3 pm to 11 pm), only one line (Line #2) is running. Develop a comprehensive sampling plan to meet the two objectives given above. Describe the goals of the sampling plan and indicate where you would collect samples, the type of samples you would collect (grab, composite or other), how you would collect the samples, and the sampling frequency and duration (1/day for 10 days, or perhaps once per hour for 5 days, or ??). Justify your answers.

HELPFUL HINTS: Consider the variability that could occur in each line throughout the day and from day to day. Also, just because a line is not operating does not mean it is not discharging anything to the sewer. This includes weekends.