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IRISH WATER IS appealing to the public ahead of Easter not to put food waste, such as fats, oils and greases, down the sink to prevent pipe blockages known as “fatbergs”.
Over €7 million is spent every year by Irish Water dealing with fatbergs in public pipes, according to the utility’s Tom Cuddy.
Speaking to RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland, Cuddy said fatbergs are an “accumulation of debris that has travelled from people’s homes into the drains and down into the sewer”.
For example, fatbergs form when wet-wipes get flushed down toilets, leading fats, oil and grease to congeal together and gradually form a hard mass.
“Really what holds it all together are these fats, oils and greases that people have poured down the sink, unfortunately,” Cuddy said.
He added that fatbergs have the same consistency as a bar of soap.
If a fatberg occurs in your home, Cuddy said “the first you’ll know about it is when your sink is backing up and perhaps there’s a covering lifting in the back garden or your neighbour’s back garden”.
Irish Water deals with about 6,000 cases of fatbergs a year.
“We have special machinery, essentially we have jetting and vacuum machinery, and basically we open up the manholes and put jetting rods, very high pressure power lines and they essentially break it up and suck it back,” Cuddy said, explaining how Irish Water removes the build-ups.
Irish Water is now appealing to people not to put food waste down their sinks.
“We want people not to put food waste down the sink and particularly to focus on fats, oils and greases. From a fry or from the roasting dish or gravy or sauces, all of those really should be put to one side,” Cuddy said.
In March, an 8ft sewage blockage was cleared in Co Wicklow.
It was the third blockage, also known as ragging, removed from the Bollarney Wastewater Pumping Station by Wicklow County Council staff in one day over that given weekend.
In January, a UK-based water company discovered a 64m fatberg blocking a sewer in south-western town of Sidmouth.
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And they had to have a big consultation to figure that out. ..Give me a break whatever happened to good old common sense.
Regrettably in this day and age, common sense isn’t very common.
yes censorship works
It also favours government propaganda and oppression.
exactly, suicide is unpopular so journalists should not report, this is the censorship line
I think the figures should be reported daily.
The truth is well masked and denies the serious straits many people are in and take desperate measures. It then is easier for them to say that improvements and help are not needed.
It may well be sensible not to report the method but where and how many would be most telling. I’m think most of us know the reasons.
THIS SHOULD BE REPORTED.
It should,not be hidden and it is to be recognised that the problems are much bigger and more widespread than the government report with their big smiles and all the carry on at the EEC.
Media agencies should provide journalists with the ethics of reporting on suicides.
There are already ethics about reporting suicide. There’s a great group called Headline that monitor media for such things who came in to give us a talk when I studied media.
These ethics aren’t exactly legally implemented, though. Most of the changes in the reporting of suicide are pretty subtle and you’d nearly need them to be pointed out to notice them.
For instance, you shouldn’t ever read an article these days claiming somebody had “committed suicide”, since it was decriminalised, there’s no crime to be committed.
Areas where suicide is a problem shouldn’t be refereed to as “hot spots” and the methods used shouldn’t be reported.
When two people kill themselves together, they ofter get referred to as “Romeo and Juliet”, which romaticises suicide.
As I said, though, these aren’t legal issues. Just common sense, really.
I don’t think that the reporting on suicide is the issue.A poorly resources mental health service is having a far bigger impact on the numbers than anything else.Now how about a big media discussion on this point.
Sadly, there is nothing in a media report that is not easily found by a Google search.
Just completed the ASIST refresher training (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training). I did the initial training 4 years ago.
For those that are interested you can find out when it may be in your area ~
There’d be little risk of any copycats if reporters used terms that made the legacy of suicide seem unappealing. e.g. instead of saying “a person has taken their own life” they should say “another idiot has taken the cowards way out”. Copycats are weak-minded & unoriginal so attaching a negative stigma is a much better deterrent that the “poor you” mentality.
And before people start thinking I’m trying to insult suicidal people, maybe read it again a few times. I’m specifically talking about copycats (as the article is about) NOT people with real mental health issues!
Anyone that thinks suicide is “the cowards way out” doesn’t understand. Not sure what you mean by “real mental health issues”. It is something that can happen to anyone, given certain circumstances. Drugs or alcohol can also influence a person’s state of mind. Including prescribed drugs eg anti-depressants. While some people can tolerate these drugs, for others they can increase the risk of suicide, especially in the younger age groups. Hence the FDA have a black box warning on these psychoactive drugs ~
http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/InformationbyDrugClass/UCM096273
Going on or coming off these drugs can also be a vulnerable time.
{ Do not stop or change without discussing with a good doctor, due to the dangers of withdrawal incorrectly }
Well why not to ban movies and their making too then?? Example: Wild tales…a pilot that takes his own life and others too. Movies, news, books are fonts of great ideas and surely do not apply only for suiciding’s thoughts, but to wanna be rapists, racists, killers, thieves…maybe should just banned people from all forms of information and entertainment
have your say