Separators should leave nothing to chance!

"It goes into the ground anyway and you never hear about it again," seems to be the most common excuse for purchasing inferior quality separators. Oil and grease separators are an inseparable part of our infrastructure and underground sewage systems. They are often mandated through the "Activities Decree" in situations where there are wastewater streams containing settling particles, mineral oils and fats, or fats of animal - and/or vegetable origin. In a separator, the wastes are separated from the water and stored by sedimentation (sludge) and floating (floating layer). Thus, separators prevent discharge of often environmentally hazardous wastes into the sewer system or surface water and act as temporary storage of these substances. 

The situation until 2004

Until 2004, many countries, including the Netherlands and Germany, had together established strict product standards that separators had to meet. If producers met all the requirements, they received a KOMO certificate in the Netherlands and a Bauaufsichtliche Zulassung in Germany. If they did not, the product was rejected and construction could begin again. The assessment/control of whether a product complied with the specified requirements was therefore carried out by an independent third party (the so-called "third party control"). For the Netherlands this was KIWA. This gave clarity, certainty and reliability to manufacturers, governments, customers and end users. The safe period of use was set at a minimum of 20 years. 

CE marking became mandatory

Richard Janssen, director and owner of Nering Bögel, says: "At the end of the 1990s, European cooperation had to become greater. Every country had to be given equal opportunities. In short, everyone had to be able to participate. Apparently that was more important than prescribing a quality product. So finally, after a long and intensive process, in 2004 the European product standards for oil and grease separators were definitively established in the European standards committees and all national product standards disappeared. National product standards and mandatory product certification were no longer to be mandatorily prescribed, as this was seen as a barrier to trade." 

There were more "achievable standards" that no longer had to be verified by a third independent party. "For countries like the Netherlands and Germany, this was a big bummer. Work of many years where quality awareness and (minimum) levels had been worked on was thrown overboard. Actually, that meant we were back to square one, and that's why the problems came," Janssen said. "Rainwater wells are (again) sold as separators. Things like inner lining, minimum wall thicknesses, reinforcement et cetera are no longer defined. With all possible consequences. Cracked separators can lead to an environmental claim, a road subsidence can cause many tons of damage."

Technical Construction File required

The fact is that everyone must build in accordance with CE in Europe. Behind every product there must be a complete 'Technical Construction Dossier' (TCD) so that national supervisors can check it. Janssen: "This is an obligation. But, who actually checks? The manufacturer himself now provides his products with a CE sticker or stamp and supplies a signed (own) declaration of performance. The builder/client thinks they are thus safeguarded and that this means they are complying with laws and regulations. The chances of eventually getting caught are extremely low."

In a future edition, Nering Bögel will take a closer look at this topic and explain in detail how a good separator is produced and what it should meet.