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Desalination Facility Hazards

Desalination refers to the removal of salt (sodium chloride) from seawater in an effort to make it suitable for humans to consume or for industrial use. The process of desalination requires a few steps, but most often includes reverse-osmosis, which means saltwater is forced through a membrane trapping salt, while allowing water to pass through. The process is expensive and has some hazards associated with it because there are so many steps to the process.

  1. High-Salinity Discharges

    • One of the hazards of desalination facilities is the discharge of high concentrations of saline back into natural water sources. The filtration process of cleansing the water leaves plants with large quantities of salt to dispose of. A major hazard is that there is a risk of the concentrated saline solution leaking into a natural water source and damaging the local ecosystem. Fish and marine life are highly temperamental when it comes to levels of salt in the water and stocks will be decimated by the accidental discharge from a desalination facility.

    By Product Chemicals

    • The process of desalination requires the use of synthetic chemicals to cleanse the water. Some of the chemicals used in the process are iodine, chlorine, sulfuric acid, lead and manganese. These chemicals become left over waste from the process of desalination and are in high enough concentrations to cause serious harm to humans or wildlife. The toxicity of the chemical combination is a hazard to all employees working in the desalination plants should they come in direct contact with the byproduct. It is also a threat to natural water sources because desalination plants are located on shores and any accidental leak will contaminate the area.

    Greenhouse Gas

    • Desalination plants produce high amounts of greenhouse gas as a byproduct of the processing of saline water. According to Sydney Water, 500 mega liters of water per day processed at a desalination plant produces 480,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases per year. The process of removing the salt from the water is energy intensive and one of the biggest criticisms of desalination plants. Greenhouse gas emissions are a huge hazard to the local environment as they collect in the earth's atmosphere.

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