Slaughterhouses

A large variety of slaughterhouses exist. Slaughter sites vary from simple slaughter slabs to very modern slaughterhouses or abattoirs. In slaughterhouses the animals are killed. Subsequently, blood, hide or skin, intestines and internal organs are removed. The carcass is cut and processed into different meat products through e.g.: cutting, grinding, curing or canning. Large quantities of edible offal and non-edible offal are produced. The majority of those products could be further processed and utilised, but this is not always the case. The by-products are frequently wasted and dumped or discharged on surface water.

In the slaughter process the following by-products and waste products become available: (1) manure, contents of rumen and intestines; (2) edible products such as blood and liver; (3) inedible products such as hair, bones and feathers; (4) fat recovered from the waste water; and (5) waste water. From an economic as well as from an environmental point of view many of these waste products could be processed further into useful by-products (e.g. for human consumption, pet food, feed industry or fertiliser). Poor quality slaughtering, lack of equipment for processing of by-products, small quantities of by-products and low end value contribute to waste production from slaughterhouses. Liberal use of water leads to large quantities of wastewater. Direct discharge of untreated wastewater on the surface water or the public sewage system causes bad odours, oxygen poor water and sanitary and environmental problems.

The following matrix indicates the most common Industrial risks associated with Slaughterhouses.

Proceed to the Matrix of Underlying Problems and Potential Impacts

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