A highly absorbent consumer-product, polyacrylate-polymer material tagged with carbon-14 (14C), was dosed to a standard on-site aerobic wastewater treatment plant which contained a settling chamber, an aeration chamber, and an effluent chamber. Operation of the test plant was essentially the same as that of a control plant even under exaggerated conditions. About 97% of the polymer material was retained in solids deposited in the primary and aeration chambers, and effluent releases were minimal. The use of a 14C tagging procedure proved to be a successful method for studying the behavior of these complex materials. It may be useful to conduct a further study on retained solids to determine whether microbial decomposition of the polymer material occurs while they remain in typical plants. Notation AC-aeration chamber BOD,-biochemical oxygen demand, S-day technique COD-chemical oxygen demand E-effluent LS-liquid scintillation mCi-millicurie MLSS-mixed liquor suspended solids NSF-national sanitation foundation PC-primary chamber pCi-picocurie SL-sludge SN-supernate SS-suspended solids VSS-volatile suspended solids 57-refers to plant 57, the test plant 58-refers to plant 58, the control plant

No abstract