Carpet mothproofing process ends pesticide discharges

Until recently, Westex Carpets' dyehouse in Saddleworth, Lancashire, discharged effluent containing the pesticide permethrin to sewer and then into the river Tame. Standard practice in the industry is to add mothproofers to the dyebath, producing an effluent contaminated with pesticides which are not fully degraded during sewage treatment.

Discharges from the carpet industry have caused breaches of the environmental quality standard for p