Massive London 'fatberg' to be turned into museum exhibit

By Jacopo Prisco, CNN

Updated 1022 GMT (1822 HKT) January 19, 2018

A giant "fatberg" was removed from these London sewers in late 2017. Most of it was converted to biofuel, but a few fragments will soon be exhibited at the Museum of London.
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A giant "fatberg" was removed from these London sewers in late 2017. Most of it was converted to biofuel, but a few fragments will soon be exhibited at the Museum of London.
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The fatberg, a congealed lump of grease, fat and non-flushable items such as wet wipes and condoms, sticks to sewer walls and can become as hard as concrete.
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The fatberg, a congealed lump of grease, fat and non-flushable items such as wet wipes and condoms, sticks to sewer walls and can become as hard as concrete.
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Thames Water, the municipal utility which performed the removal, says it took nine weeks and that it spends $1.4 million a month to clear blockages in London sewers.
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Thames Water, the municipal utility which performed the removal, says it took nine weeks and that it spends $1.4 million a month to clear blockages in London sewers.
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A sewer technician holds a fatberg in a London sewer in 2014.
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A sewer technician holds a fatberg in a London sewer in 2014.
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Among the components of fatbergs are grease, cooking fats, nappies, wet wipes, but also dangerous materials such as lights bulbs and hypodermic needles.
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Among the components of fatbergs are grease, cooking fats, nappies, wet wipes, but also dangerous materials such as lights bulbs and hypodermic needles.
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Fatbergs form because the fat, cooling down, becomes a solid and lumps around items such as nappies and wet wipes. The mixture then sticks to sewer walls and hardens, which makes removal a tough job.
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Fatbergs form because the fat, cooling down, becomes a solid and lumps around items such as nappies and wet wipes. The mixture then sticks to sewer walls and hardens, which makes removal a tough job.
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Thames Water has launched a <a href="http://binit.thameswater.co.uk/" target="_blank">campaign</a> to educate the public about items which can't be flushed.
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Thames Water has launched a campaign to educate the public about items which can't be flushed.
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Whitechapel fatberg 2 (c) Thames WaterWhitechapel fatberg (c) Museum of LondonFat_Clogged_Pipe (c) Thames WaterGettyImages-460462748GettyImages-460462732GettyImages-460462746GettyImages-460462730

Story highlights

  • 800-foot long 'fatberg' found under London
  • Most was turned into biodiesel
  • Fragments will become museum exhibit

(CNN)What used to be a disgusting subterranean mass of congealed waste -- also known as a fatberg -- will soon be on display at a London museum.

The peculiar exhibit is but a fragment of one of the largest such objects ever found, measuring 820 feet long and weighing 130 tons, as much as 11 double-decker buses. It was removed last year from the sewers underneath the East London district of Whitechapel, after it caused a severe blockage.
    "It will be displayed in a sealed unit," said Sharon Robison, head of conservation at the Museum of London.
      "It's been in quarantine for a total of around nine weeks already and we'll undertake some more scientific analysis before the exhibition."

      The Whitechapel monster

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      Fatbergs (the word is a portmanteau of fat and iceberg) form over time as items such as wet wipes, nappies, condoms, sanitary products and various types of greases and oils are flushed or washed down drains instead of disposed correctly.
      Thames Water, which operates the water system in London, says it spends £1 million a month, or nearly $1.4 million, to clear blockages of this kind. To reduce their occurrence, it has started a campaign called "Bin it - don't block it" to educate the public on which items should be discarded as regular garbage rather than flushed down the toilet.
      The Whitechapel sewer during removal of the fatberg
      The Whitechapel sewer during removal of the fatberg
      The worst offenders are cooking oils and fats -- coming mostly from restaurants and other food outlets -- and wet wipes, which are often marketed as "flushable." But unlike toilet paper, these wipes take years to break down as they often contain plastic, and shouldn't be flushed at all