Pump it up: making single-pit emptying safer in rural Bangladesh

Safe emptying and disposal of fecal sludge from pit latrines in rural areas has become a priority for the Government of Bangladesh. In this paper, we calculate the volume and characterize the hazards of managing sludge to identify technologies for safely emptying rural single pits. In Bhaluka subdis...

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Autores principales: Balasubramanya, Soumya, Evans, B., Ahmed, R., Habib, A., Asad, N.S.M., Vuong, L., Rahman, M., Hasan, M., Dey, D., Camargo Valero, M.A.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: IWA Publishing 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/78568
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author Balasubramanya, Soumya
Evans, B.
Ahmed, R.
Habib, A.
Asad, N.S.M.
Vuong, L.
Rahman, M.
Hasan, M.
Dey, D.
Camargo Valero, M.A.
author_browse Ahmed, R.
Asad, N.S.M.
Balasubramanya, Soumya
Camargo Valero, M.A.
Dey, D.
Evans, B.
Habib, A.
Hasan, M.
Rahman, M.
Vuong, L.
author_facet Balasubramanya, Soumya
Evans, B.
Ahmed, R.
Habib, A.
Asad, N.S.M.
Vuong, L.
Rahman, M.
Hasan, M.
Dey, D.
Camargo Valero, M.A.
author_sort Balasubramanya, Soumya
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Safe emptying and disposal of fecal sludge from pit latrines in rural areas has become a priority for the Government of Bangladesh. In this paper, we calculate the volume and characterize the hazards of managing sludge to identify technologies for safely emptying rural single pits. In Bhaluka subdistrict, an estimated 15,000 m3 of sludge is produced annually. Physical, chemical, and microbial analysis of samples of sludge taken from pit latrines indicate that the sludge has a high moisture content of around 90%, a C:N ration of 10:1, and a helminth presence of 41 eggs/g. In a field test of alternative emptying technologies, simple pumps such as the gulper emerged as feasible for use in rural areas, due to the liquid nature of the sludge, narrow roads, and limited incomes of rural households. The results suggest that current practices of emptying liquid sludge manually without any protective equipment poses risks to those who handle sludge, and the process needs to be semi-mechanized with immediate effect. These results are being used by the Bangladesh government to design policy for sludge management. In the near future, an organized service that safely empties single pits and transports sludge for treatment needs to be urgently designed.
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spelling CGSpace785682025-03-11T09:50:20Z Pump it up: making single-pit emptying safer in rural Bangladesh Balasubramanya, Soumya Evans, B. Ahmed, R. Habib, A. Asad, N.S.M. Vuong, L. Rahman, M. Hasan, M. Dey, D. Camargo Valero, M.A. rural areas faecal sludge faecal coliforms sewage effluent disposal sludge treatment latrines sanitation health risks helminths liquid wastes public services state intervention pumping Safe emptying and disposal of fecal sludge from pit latrines in rural areas has become a priority for the Government of Bangladesh. In this paper, we calculate the volume and characterize the hazards of managing sludge to identify technologies for safely emptying rural single pits. In Bhaluka subdistrict, an estimated 15,000 m3 of sludge is produced annually. Physical, chemical, and microbial analysis of samples of sludge taken from pit latrines indicate that the sludge has a high moisture content of around 90%, a C:N ration of 10:1, and a helminth presence of 41 eggs/g. In a field test of alternative emptying technologies, simple pumps such as the gulper emerged as feasible for use in rural areas, due to the liquid nature of the sludge, narrow roads, and limited incomes of rural households. The results suggest that current practices of emptying liquid sludge manually without any protective equipment poses risks to those who handle sludge, and the process needs to be semi-mechanized with immediate effect. These results are being used by the Bangladesh government to design policy for sludge management. In the near future, an organized service that safely empties single pits and transports sludge for treatment needs to be urgently designed. 2016-09-01 2017-01-03T07:08:18Z 2017-01-03T07:08:18Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/78568 en Open Access IWA Publishing Balasubramanya, Soumya; Evans, B.; Ahmed, R.; Habib, A.; Asad, N. S. M.; Vuong, L.; Rahman, M.; Hasan, M.; Dey, D.; Camargo-Valero, M. 2016. Pump it up: making single-pit emptying safer in rural Bangladesh. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, 6(3):456-464. doi: 10.2166/washdev.2016.049
spellingShingle rural areas
faecal sludge
faecal coliforms
sewage effluent disposal
sludge treatment
latrines
sanitation
health risks
helminths
liquid wastes
public services
state intervention
pumping
Balasubramanya, Soumya
Evans, B.
Ahmed, R.
Habib, A.
Asad, N.S.M.
Vuong, L.
Rahman, M.
Hasan, M.
Dey, D.
Camargo Valero, M.A.
Pump it up: making single-pit emptying safer in rural Bangladesh
title Pump it up: making single-pit emptying safer in rural Bangladesh
title_full Pump it up: making single-pit emptying safer in rural Bangladesh
title_fullStr Pump it up: making single-pit emptying safer in rural Bangladesh
title_full_unstemmed Pump it up: making single-pit emptying safer in rural Bangladesh
title_short Pump it up: making single-pit emptying safer in rural Bangladesh
title_sort pump it up making single pit emptying safer in rural bangladesh
topic rural areas
faecal sludge
faecal coliforms
sewage effluent disposal
sludge treatment
latrines
sanitation
health risks
helminths
liquid wastes
public services
state intervention
pumping
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/78568
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