Trade effluent refers to any liquid outflow, including particles of matter and other substances suspended in the liquid, from any trade, business, manufacturer or any works of engineering or building construction. Used water discharged from industries and households is collected and treated at water reclamation plants to produce NEWater.
Discharging trade effluent containing prohibited substances or excessive concentration of regulated substances may endanger the safety and health of workers maintaining the public sewerage system and impact the used water treatment operation at water reclamation plants. Premises must obtain a permit from PUB to discharge trade effluent into the public sewerage system.
What is trade effluent testing?
Under Sewerage And Drainage (Trade Effluent) Regulations, the trade effluent discharged into a public sewer is not allowed to:
- Contain any prohibited organic compounds listed in the First Schedule
- Exceed the maximum concentration of certain substances listed in the Second Schedule
- Exceed the maximum concentration of metals listed in the Third Schedule
Business owners are responsible for determining the frequency of collecting and sending trade effluent samples to an external accredited laboratory for analysis.
First schedule – List of prohibited organic compounds
1. Methylene chloride
2. Trichloroethylene
3. 111-trichloroethane
4. Tetra-chloromethane
5. 112-trichloroethane
6. Toluene
7. Styrene
8. Methyl tert-butyl-ether
9. Nonane
10. Decane
11. Tetrachloroethylene
12. Ethylbenzene
13. Xylene (o,m,p)
14. Hexane
15. Heptane
16. Octane
17. 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene
18. Furan
19. Tetrahydrofuran (THF)
20. n,n-dimethylformamide (DMF)
21. Benzene
22. Turpentine
23. Polybrominated diphenyl ether
24. Isobutanol
25. Methyl ethyl ketone
26. Methyl isobutyl ketone
27. Isopropyl ether
28. Diethyl ether
29. Dimethyl sulphide
30. Dimethyl sulphoxide
Second & third Schedule – Maximum concentrations of certain substances & metals in trade effluent
1. Total suspended solids
2. Total dissolved solids
3. Chloride (as Cl-)
4. Sulphate (as SO42-)
5. Sulphide (as S)
6. Cyanide (as CN-)
7. Detergents
8. Grease and oil (Hydrocarbon)
9. Arsenic
10. Barium
11. Tin
12. Iron (as Fe)
13. Beryllium
14. Boron
15. Manganese
16. Phenolic compounds (as phenol)
17. Fluoride (as F-)
18. Cadmium
19. Chromium (Trivalent & Hexavalent)
20. Copper
21. Lead
22. Mercury
23. Nickel
24. Selenium
25. Silver
26. Zinc
Our services
TÜV SÜD PSB has a dedicated sampling team to perform sampling and collect trade effluent from the site. Our experts will perform analysis according to regulations’ requirements.
Your business benefits
- Gain access to export markets – shorten your time to market by meeting regulatory requirements and international standards
- Minimise risk – minimise the violation of regulatory risks and potential legal liabilities by conducting independent testing
- Improve product quality and safety – third-party verification increases product quality and safety, boosting customer confidence in your products
Accreditation and recognition
TÜV SÜD laboratories are accredited to the requirements of ISO 17025 by the Singapore Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (SAC-SINGLAS).
