To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 10 November (HL2965), which stated that the polymere based product "is used in treatment of the solid wastes, which have a waste water component that receives further treatment prior to discharge", how the further treatment removes the acrylamide which is water soluble; and whether they can confirm that polymeres are not tested to check if this has been successful.
Answered on
29 December 2022
In the solid slurry stabilisation process, only the minimum amount of polymer product is used to achieve the required result. The polymer will be preferentially bound within the solid waste with negligible, if any, carry over into the waste water from the slurry treatment process. This water then undergoes further treatment in the water treatment plant, including settlement of fine solids, reverse osmosis, and activated carbon filtration, which further reduce the risk of any polymer or constituents reaching the discharge point and therefore the environment. Due to the low potential for the polymer to be present in the slurry treatment process, waste water, and the further treatment provided by the water treatment plant, no testing was required as part of the permit for the presence of polymer or constituents.