ABSTRACT
Industrial chemicals, including petrochemicals, pesticides, solvents, pharmaceuticals and other process chemicals, can have catastrophic consequences for public health when discharged into sewer systems. Risks may be reduced via industrial pretreatment requirements and monitoring programmes. Louisville, Kentucky, US experienced a series of serious industrial chemical catastrophes in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which led to the development of programmes now considered ‘best practice’ models for risk reduction. The catastrophic incidents are reviewed, the priority pollutants are listed, and these risk reduction programmes are described.
