§ Mrs. Helen JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the treatment necessary to make safe drinking water contaminated by run-off from land fertilised with abattoir waste. [22979]
§ Mr. ClappisonThe location of abattoir waste disposal sites is included in the National Rivers Authority's catchment control plans and run-off from farmland is carefully monitored to prevent pollution of watercourses.
Drinking water treatment processes offer multiple barrier protection against harmful organisms that might be present in abattoir and other polluting organic wastes.
As a primary barrier the water abstracted for treatment is monitored, often on a continuous basis, so that abstraction can be suspended in the event of pollution.
The secondary barriers are the clarification and filtration stages which remove suspended matter and greatly reduce the concentrations of harmful organisms.
As a tertiary barrier, disinfection of the treated drinking water, using chlorine or ozone, ensures that harmful organisms are either absent or present in such low concentrations that they do not present an identifiable risk to the health of consumers.