Novo Nordisk's enzyme plant is located adjacent to a wooded area on the outskirts of Curitiba, the capital of the southern Brazilian state of Paraná. Curitiba has over two million inhabitants. The plant was inaugurated in 1989 and produces enzymes for the detergent, food and textile industries, primarily for the Latin American market. The total number of employees at year-end was 148.

Major impacts
The main impacts on the environment are discharges of nitrogen, phosphorus and organic matter to a river and surrounding farmland. As in Denmark, the USA and China, spent biomass, containing the major part of the nitrogen, phosphorus and organic matter, is treated with lime to make fertilizer for distribution to local farms.

Breaches of regulatory limit values
The 22 breaches of the regulatory limit value for BOD in discharged waste water were the result of technical problems with a decanter in the first few months of the year. Corrective action has been taken and since April there have been only three minor breaches.

The five breaches of the regulatory limit value for suspended solids in discharged waste water were caused by improper aeration in the second lagoon. To avoid such breaches, a new procedure with reduced aeration has been implemented.

Accidental release
Treated biomass was accidentally released to an area of 200 m². 56 m³ of surface soil was immediately removed and sent to a landfill.

Environmental focus
In 1998 the waste water treatment plant was extended with another decanter. The focus is on reducing nitrogen, phosphorus and organic matter in the waste water, as well as reducing the volume of spent biomass. To this end, modification of the biomass treatment process is currently under evaluation.

During 1997 the spent biomass was monitored to detect viable GMOs. During 1998 the monitoring programme was extended to cover waste water and farmland where spent biomass has been spread. No viable GMOs have been detected in the waste water, spent biomass or on farms since the start of monitoring. In 1999 we will monitor the exhaust air from the fermentation plant for viable GMOs.