Operational monitoring of impacts of industrial emissions from Vajda-paper Scandinavia AS on the ecological status in the Drammen River

Summary

Vajda-paper Scandinavia AS, produces tissue paper (about 18 000 tonnes/year). The company is located on the South side of the Drammen River, West of Drammen city centre. All process wastewater from the factory are collected in a common sewer system and goes through a separate cleaning process. The major components in the wastewater that have emission limit thresholds set by Norwegian national authorities are organic matter, measured as chemical oxygen demand (COD) and suspended solids (SS). The wastewater is continuously monitored by the company before it is released through a dived tube into the Drammen River about 15 meters from the shore. The water body exposed to the pressure from the emissions is a very large river with a mean water flow of 300 m3/s. The river type is a low alkalinity, clearwater lowland river. There are many other sources of similar pressures to the same river upstream of the company.