Fatberg the size of EIGHT double decker buses strikes London: 100-tonne mass of congealed wet wipes, fat, oil, and grease is removed from a sewer in Feltham
If you have a weak stomach, look away now. Thames Water has shared stomach–churning photos of an enormous 'fatberg' recovered from a sewer in Feltham. Weighing in at 100 tonnes, the congealed mass of wet wipes, fat, oil, and grease is the equivalent of eight double–decker buses. It was stuck in a sewer more than 10 metres below street–level – meaning it took experts more than a month to remove.'The clearance of this fatberg was hugely complex for our team of engineers and shows some of the challenges we face,' said Alexander Dudfield, Engagement Lead for Network Protection at Thames Water.'But while some blockages in our biggest sewers can weigh as much as 25 elephants, we must not forget most blockages occur in local pipes – often narrower than a mobile phone and usually caused by a few households. 'When these pipes get blocked, we can't simply switch off the sewage. 'It backs up and must come out somewhere, whether that's roads, rivers or even people's homes. The consequences can be devastating.' If you have a weak stomach, look away now. Thames Water has shared stomach–churning photos of an enormous 'fatberg' recovered from a sewer in Feltham Weighing in at 100 tonnes, the congealed mass of wet wipes, fat, oil, and grease was the equivalent of eight double–decker busesFatbergs are blockages made up of fat, oil, grease and other flushed waste such as wet wipes and illegal drugs.They form into huge concrete–like slabs and can be found beneath almost every UK city, growing larger with every flush. The latest fatberg to be discovered by Thames Water was a 100–tonne, 125–metre–long mass in a sewer in Feltham. To remove the fatberg, experts had to access to the sewer from a large manhole chamber measuring just three metres in diameter.Over the course of a month, the team blasted, chiselled and sucked the fatberg out, before piping the mess into skips to be taken to landfill. The removal comes shortly after the government revealed plans to ban toxic plastic wet wipes in the UK. 'We welcome the Government's move to ban wet wipes containing plastic and will continue to support awareness campaigns like this, which empower people to make small changes that have a big impact on our sewer systems, rivers, and the wider environment,' Mr Dufield added. Just last month, diggers cleared five million wipes from a 114–tonne mass on the banks of the River Thames, dubbed 'Wet Wipe Island'. The removal comes shortly after the government revealed plans to ban toxic plastic wet wipes in the UKRead More The end of Wet Wipe Island: Diggers clear 5MILLION wipes that piled up on banks of the Thames Two eight–tonne excavators scooped out the wet wipes from the riverbed. During the process, the excavators also dug up towels, scarves, trousers, a car's engine timing belt – and even a set of false teeth along the way.Worryingly, Wet Wipe Island – which was about the size of two tennis courts and up to one metre deep in places – is thought to have changed the course of the river and potentially harmed nearby aquatic wildlife and ecology.WHAT ARE FATBERGS? Fatbergs are blockages made up of flushed fat, oil, grease and other flushed waste such as wet wipes and illegal drugs.They form into huge concrete-like slabs and can be found beneath almost every UK city, growing larger with every flush.They also include food wrappers and human waste, blocking tunnels - and raising the risk of sewage flooding into homes. The biggest ever discovered in the UK was a 750-metre (2,460ft) monster found under London's South Bank in 2017 (pictured) They can grow metres tall and hundreds of metres long, with water providers last year declaring an epidemic of fatberg emergencies in 23 UK cities, costing tens of millions of pounds to remove.The biggest ever discovered in the UK was a 750-metre (2,460ft) monster found under London's South Bank in 2017. Fatbergs take weeks to remove and form when people put things they shouldn't down sinks and toilets.
