Dairy accidentally flushes 2.5 tons of coffee cream down the drain

Take note – story published 6 years ago

A slippery whodunit at the Tukuma piens dairy, as on November 3 an accident resulted in two and a half tons of coffee cream being flushed into the sewers in the town of Tukums, reported LTV and Latvian Radio. 

The accident took place on the night to November 3 and human error is most likely to blame, Armands Artihovičs, a representative of the company, told LETA.

He speculates that one or several employees may have misplaced valves, thus letting coffee cream, usually containing from 20 to 35 percent fat, into the local sewage system. An internal investigation has been launched. 

There are no estimates yet as to the losses caused, but they will be well above the manufacturing cost of 2.5 tons of coffee cream, said Artihovičs, seeing as clean-up works will be required at the company and the nearby Tukums water purification plant. 

The purification systems were brought close to maximum capacity in the morning of November 3 but the dangers caused by fatty residue at the plant reservoir had been quickly brought under control.

According to the State Environment Service representative Inguna Pļaviņa, no pollution was detected at the nearby Šlokenbeka manor pond where pollution wiped out most of the fish just a year and a half ago. 

"It was due to carelessness or sloppiness," said Pļaviņa, adding that administrative proceedings have been launched against Tukuma piens

The service employees had installed three air compressors to blow away the fatty layer off the top of the reservoir. 

It is understood that the situation has been resolved, with the unlucky employee or employees having whipped up a storm in a coffee cup.

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