Pollution of Water by Flax Milling

Feilding Star, Volume XI, Issue 77, 19 December 1889, Page 3

Pollution of Water by Flax Milling

(From tLe Taranaki Herald). Mr Samuel, M.H.R., in view of the importance to the pubhc, of the question whethßr flax pulp- injuriously affects running water, has sent to the Minister of Lauds a bottle of water taken from the Ouri stream, in rospeet * of which actions were recently brought m which Mr Samuel was engaged as counsel ., The following is the report of Sir James "Hector upon the analysis of the water sent by Mr Samuel : — •WATER FROM FLAXMILLS. The sample has been analy3ed7 l with the following results :— ANALYSIS. grains. Fixed salts per gallon ... 634 ♦Organic matters . . . . 341 9-75 *Absoibs 042 of oxygen per gallon. The quantity qf organic matters in this water is not in excess of that in ordinary river waters that are largely used for domestic purposes. The oxidisable impurities, which constitute the Bource of danger are also small. A single analysis of a small sample throws no light on the real question at issue, which v whether there is any special thing in the products of a flaxmill that .renders the water from running streams into which it flows unfit for the ordinary- uses to which it was' applied previous to the establishment of the mill. Unless there is some thing peculiarly poisonous in the flax it9 effects may be equally disregarded as the above. The green flax leaf contains no active matter except in the butt, in which a small proportion of purgative resrn exists. This will be left in the refuse of the mill/all the -butts and scrapings, being generally heaped up. Sometimes^ this ferments and becomes offensive, but not more so than ordinary vegetable matter rotted for manure. The only part of "tbe leaf that is liable to ferment is the J albumen, of which there is h\ per cent in the blade portion of the green leaf. A 8 the. dressed- flax still contains \\ per cent., about 4 per cent. of the albumen must be washed off in the process of manufacture and pass into tLe drains or streams. The quantity of water in the green leaf ie 75 per cent., so that 400 ions of green leaf contains 100 tons of solids, of which there yould be 4 tons of alburaenoids. No doubt the effect oi the latter would be to promote a sKgbt putiefactive fermentation, but the degree to which this might unfit tbe stream for use as potable water would depend on the degree of delution (a email mill discharging . into a large stream, or vice versa). The effect of the albumenoids in refuse heaps upon t he water would depend largely on the extent to which it had rotted -before it was discharged into the stream It is obvious, therefore that many oiroumstances must be taken into consideration in' each particular^ case .before an opinion can be formed as to whether a mill is damaging a stream to any special degree. . ' „.' -/ ,. .James Hhotor; «tb J>*»ml>§r, 1889. ' -