CARACTERIZAÇÃO DE ÁGUAS RESIDUÁRIAS DE ABATEDOURO DE BOVINOS OBJETIVANDO SEU REUSO.

Brazil has the largest commercial cattle herd in the world, consequently the generation of wastewaters in this country has enormously grown, and the absence of treatment of these residues directly affects water bodies and soil near slaughterhouses. Given the possibility of reusing wastewaters, this study aimed to examine the quality of wastewaters generated during the slaughter of cattle, in São Luís, State Capital of Maranhão, Brazil, evaluating the compliance of the current legislation regarding the discharge of wastewater and the possibility of reusing it. Thus, we carried out four bimonthly sample collections from the final effluent, obtained at the outlet of the last pond of the effluent treatment station of one of the slaughterhouses of São Luís, to evaluate its physicochemical and microbiological quality. The effluent evaluation showed that it did not meet the standards required by the current federal legislation; therefore, it is not recommended to be reused. Some improvement alternatives were suggested, which may be adopted by other local abattoirs. This study represented a contribution to the slaughterhouse sectors, aiming the strengthening of the state inspection system and expansion of discussions related to the absence of public policies, especially regarding state laws relevant to this agribusiness sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]