Somehow still remarkably appealing… (Bruno Vincent/Getty Images)

Until I edited an enormous suite of heart health articles last year, I always had a hard time visualizing the slow buildup of arterial plaque — the clog, if you will. Now I have a striking visual parallel, and a colorful one at that: the gradual clogging of Virginia sewers with “donut sludge” (words from footnoted.org, via Slate).

Back in May, Fairfax County sued Krispy Kreme for clogging the sewers with waste from its Lorton, Va., plant. According to the suit, “excessive amounts of fats, oils and grease” accumulated during the plant’s five years of operation, destroying mechanical pumps, iron pipes and other parts of the sewage system. According to the Washington Post, the county also described the gunk as being hotter than 150 degrees F (66 degrees C) with acidity comparable to vinegar. It made up 8 percent of the plant’s total wastewater.

Fairfax sought $2 million in damages, plus $18 million in civil penalties for the donut-sludge havoc, but ultimately settled with the company this month for $750,000, plus $200,000 from a third-party insurance company. Krispy Kreme will also pay $900,000 in legal expenses, and seems to have patched things up nicely with the county. However, the company’s not admitting any wrongdoing: It blamed the damage on the “faulty design and construction” of the sewer system, including the use of iron instead of PVC piping.

But while post-settlement county and company temperatures seem to have cooled to that of a day-old donut, they were popping earlier this year. In court documents, Fairfax said Krispy Kreme belonged on the Clean Water Act’s “Hall of Shame” list, while the donut company accused the county of “shameful” conduct. (You can find out about the actual half-million violations of the Clean Water Act in Allison’s post on the subject.)

For me at least, “donut sludge” has lost its innocent connotation as the ring-shaped pools of sugar that mark the bottom of a Krispy Kreme box. Although I’m sure a bright red “hot sign” could shake me out of it.