Last September , London ’s Whitechapel fatberg went viral . It was one of the bombastic on record , measure out 250 meters ( 820 ft ) tip to tip and weighing a astounding 130 metric ton ( 143 ton ) – roughly tantamount to 19 adult African elephants or 878 sumo wrestlers .
But it pal in comparability to the latest ' berg discovered in London ’s toilet . The goliath recently constitute near the South Bank in Central London is figure to be 750 meters ( 2,460 foot ) long , which would make it three time the size of its record - breaking predecessor and twice the size of the Empire State Building .
This even , Brits with a strong stomach can tune up intoChannel 4to watch a team of flushers perform the unenviable task of dissecting a 5 - metric ton ( 5.5 - ton ) sample distribution of the beast to find what on the nose it is Londoners have been flushing down their toilets . word of advice : look at really is n’t for the faint - hearted .
Fatbergs are a gruesome concoction of congeal fat , human waste , sanitary intersection , wet wipe , and safe , and tests confirm that this particular monster is almost 90 percent discarded preparation oil .
“ The fertile spliff to the side of the tobacco pipe , the wet wipes fare down and pose to the juicy , other fat come down and sticks to the wet wipes and that tot to the heap of the fatberg , ” explained Andy Drinkwater , a civil engineering consultant , according toThe Guardian .
In and among the fat and pixilated wipes , the team distinguish traces of street drugs and illegal gym drugs , reveal a dark side to London lifespan . passably surprisingly , ostracise sports - enhancing accessory , such as hordenine and ostarine , which are used to promote muscle growth , were detected more often than amateur drugs like MDMA and cocain . The flushers also found baggies , a needle , and a syringe .
Most distressful was the level of potentially life sentence - threatening antibiotic - immune bacterium ( Listeria , Campylobacter , andE. coli ) the team detected . Not only does this pose a risk of exposure to London ’s sewage workers who spend their day trudge through the populace ’s kettle of fish to keep the urban center clean , it could also be a public health risk if there was ever a sewerage flood .
The Southbank fatberg is just one of 12 currently lurk in London ’s sewage system , all of which have to be dealt with by flushers by hand . The arduous job of clean and removing fatbergs costs Thames Water £ 930,000 ( $ 1.3 million ) everysinglemonth , and the situation is getting worse .
“ We and other water companies are face a unremitting battle to keep the nation ’s sewers free from fatbergs and other blockages,”saidThames Water ’s waste networks manager , Alex Saunders .
Part of the problem is an honest-to-god and superannuated sewage system , perfectly capable of deal with the " Great Stink " in Victorian England but perhaps not quite up to labor in a grow and modernizing city . However , there are things Londoners can do to help . One thing is tothink before you blush .
Fatberg Autopsy : Secrets of the Sewers . Channel 4 / Youtube
