Treatment Alternatives for
Shellfish Processing Wastewaters
JAMES W. HUDSON, Research Assistant
FREDERICK G. POHLAND, Professor
School of Civil Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, Georgia 30332
INTRODUCTION
Federal and state water pollution control authorities have been intensifying efforts
toward the control of industrial wastewater discharges. These efforts are now being directed
at the shellfish processing industry in an attempt to curtail and control wastewater
discharges into estuarine waters. Several control alternatives are available; the selection of
any one being dependent upon local need, economic conditions, and a final delineation of
an optimal course of action.
Presently in Georgia a few shellfish processors have sufficient wastewater treatment
capability to meet current requirements, however, many do not. Therefore, considering the
trend toward more stringent effluent requirements, most processors will need to establish
either increased on-site treatment capacity or combine treatment with existing or
developing municipal systems.
Before meaningful control procedures can be advised or implemented, the wastewaters
must be sufficiently characterized and pertinent treatment alternatives capable of providing
any desired level of effluent quality must be explored. Moreover, according to present
legislation (PL 92-500), any acceptable on-site treatment system should be composed of
processes and operations which conform to "best practical and available technology
economically feasible." Considering the relative dearth of information available on the
treatment of shellfish processing wastewaters, some of the best practical and available
treatment methods capable of reliably producing a desired effluent were chosen for
investigation. Specific delineation of all available alternatives was considered beyond the
scope of this paper, however, reviews of current treatment alternatives are available (1).
Therefore, this paper documents preliminary research efforts oriented toward the
determination of various wastewater treatment alternatives with demonstrable
applicability to the shellfish processing industry. The information generated should enable
the industry to better prepare for and resolve problems associated with wastewater
discharges, allow regulatory authorities to assess alternatives available to the industry in
setting control requirements and in permit issuance for treatment and/ or discharge, and aid
other investigators in the process of evaluating other aspects of shellfish processing
wastewater problems.
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