FATBERGS: A GROWING PROBLEM
The United States and the United Kingdom are the two nations that report the most fatbergs.
Both nations produce copious fatberg ingredients and they also have many aging sewer systems ill-equipped to deal with the onslaught of fat and trash from growing populations.
A fatberg that's estimated to weigh more than 140 tons was discovered in London's sewer system earlier this month.
In August 2013, a 15-ton fatberg was found in London.
A fatberg (pictured) that's estimated to weigh more than 140 tons was recently discovered in London's sewer system
And in 2015 workers spent four days removing a fatberg the length of a jumbo jet from a sewer in Shepherd's Bush.
In the US, giant lumps of lard and baby wipes were discovered clogging Denver sewers in 2013.
The fatbergs were found blocking more than a thousand miles of pipe under the city.
Baltimore's most recent fatberg occurred in a 100-year-old pipe that's 24 inches long. The pipe was caked with oils, grease and congealed fats.
Other cases in the US include those reported in San Francisco, New York City, Miami and Washington, DC.
In New York, the city spent more than $18 million over a five-year period on wipe-related equipment problems.
Among the most common causes of drain blockages are make-up and nappy wipes, fat and grease, chewing gum, dental floss, plasters and building debris.
In the US, giant lumps of lard and baby wipes (pictured) were discovered clogging Denver sewers in 2013
Read articles that feature this panel
New York faces fatbergs crisis as officials tell residents to stop throwing 'flushable wipes' down the toilet after 53,000 tons of refuse...
Everything from dead rats, car tires and even headless pigs ends up in the city's sewers as part of fatbergs - enormous globs of fat, mostly...
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