Sanitation

Introduction
Every day we read couple of news regarding deaths and diseases occurred due to lack of proper sanitation conditions. Illness like diarrhea kills approx. 10 lakhs children below age 5 every year. This number of deaths can be reduced by treating the waste properly and maintaining hygienic conditions. At the same time, awareness about sanitation must be increased at individual level as well as in the society. It starts from basic household sanitation. Sanitation is the hygienic means of preventing human contact from the hazards of wastes to promote health. It can be done using sewage and wastewater treatment, septic tanks and by personal hygienic practices. In this chapter we will study about sanitation and how to achieve and improve it.

Objective
In this chapter, we are going to learn about Sanitation. We will learn different methods of sanitation and about septic tank. We will also learn how to keep yourself away from mosquitoes and flies which spread dangerous diseases.

What is sanitation?
Sanitation literally means protecting and improving hygiene and health by taking measures to treat and dispose of all types of organic waste properly. It is the process to prevent human, animals from contact with excreta (human waste) to avoid diseases. It starts with keeping yourself and your surrounding clean, free from waste. No access to toilet is the main problem which later creates unpleasant and unhealthy environment. Whenever any waste is exposed without proper disposal, it can spread illness in the whole community. Because one gram of feces can contain 10 million viruses, 1 million bacteria, 1 thousand cyst parasites and about a hundred worm eggs. Fecal contamination in rivers and other water bodies is not just a human risk but it also affects other species and eventually it is a threat to the ecological balance. It pollutes drinking water and enters into food chain through vegetable, fruits and fish etc. What are the diseases which associate with poor sanitation? Many infectious diseases including cholera, typhoid, infectious cryptosporidiosis, and ascariasis can be transmitted through human excreta.

hepatitis,

polio,

Better sanitation system is a mean to provide better health protection to individual as well as to the society. Apart from providing good sanitation, awareness should be developed in people at household level as well as at community and society level to use it regularly and effectively.

Fig. 1 All living or dead organic substances can be food for one or the other animal and creature.

Methods of sanitation
1. Aeration of sewage:

Fig. 2

In cities, when quantity of sewage is huge, aeration is used for sanitation. The organic waste water is churned with air. The oxygen then oxidizes the organics waste, producing CO2 and increasing the population of the bacteria. The bacteria and some of the organic substances settle down as sludge. Air is mixed into sewage by fountains, spray ponds etc. The same system is used to re-cycle waste and industrial water containing organic remains, in big cities. Spray sprinklers and big churning wheel-fans are used to expose maximum water to air. In fresh water bodies, like in a river or in a stream, water gets clean by the same method.

2. Partial burning without air: It is not feasible to mix air in all kinds of sewage. Instead, we can use sealed tanks and soak- pits to allow partial burning of organic remains in the waste water without much air. After this process bacteria, mosquito, flies dont live and spread on the organic remains. The remains are used as the best manure for farms. In brief, sanitation is nothing but burning of all organic substances with the help of bacteria so that harmful mosquito, flies as well as foul smell can be stopped.

The Septic Tank

The purpose of the septic system is to treat and dispose the waste comes from houses. All harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites are killed in this process. The septic tank is a watertight structure. All human waste is collected into it. Heavier material sets down at the bottom of the tank and forms sludge layer. Lighter material floats at the top and forms scum layer. Remaining liquid i.e. sewage effluent flows out of the tank. Septic tank retains the solid waste and releases liquid effluent.
Inspectio n Access Inspectio n Access

Waste from house

Liquid Effluent outlet

Fig. 3

Fig. 4 The Scum Layer: It consists of all the lighter and floating matter. They are generally greases and oils. It needs to be removed periodically. The Liquid Effluent Layer: It is made up of the liquids and suspended particles. When new waste enters the tank, the liquid effluent level rises and the effluent is forced out of the tank. The Sludge Layer: It consists of the heavier waste solids that separate and settle at the bottom. This is decomposed by bacteria. These bacteria live and grow in absence of air. (It is called an anaerobic treatment). The matter which is not decomposed needs to be cleaned periodically. When the effluent water leaves the septic tank it is send to soak pit. A soak pit is a covered pit dug in the ground, in which effluent from the septic tank is discharged. It is generally dug in the pervious soil which can absorb the effluent. These pits are filled with washed rock/gravel. The Septic tank system needs soil to absorb and treat the liquid effluent coming out of the system. It should be installed where there is enough soil where this purification can take place. The soli where you are allowing liquid effluent to flow should not be too sticky or too sandy. The soil, if you take a handful of it should easily break into small granules, is the best soil. Otherwise it can create unhealthy environment. Following are some important tips to maintain your septic tank system: To decompose the solid waste, wastewater should be held in the tank for at least 24 hours. The remaining solid accumulate in the tank. It is necessary to remove sludge periodically; ideally once in 3 years. If sludge level increases, waste water will remain in the tank for lesser time and hence decomposition will remain incomplete. This will give smell from the tanks. Do not use over water for washing the toilet. Do not throw sanitary napkins in the toilet, as they cannot be decomposed and can clog the system. Do not over use the detergents to clean the toilets / bathroom.

Apart from good sanitation system, there are few more things you should be aware of to avoid spread of diseases. Poor sanitation attracts flies and mosquitoes that spread disease and give them a breeding ground. Mosquitoes and flies are very common insects which spread diseases.

Presence of mosquitoes and flies is a sign of low hygiene, sanitation and poor insect control. Mosquitoes are there everywhere on the earth except on the polar regions. In India itself, every year approx. 40 million people suffer from diseases spread by mosquito bite. There are many diseases caused by mosquitoes. For example filaria, malaria, yellow fever and dengue-fever are some of the fatal diseases. Malaria is very common in India. Malaria patient has malariabacteria in his blood. When mosquito bites such patient, it gets infected. When such infected mosquito bites any healthy person, it lets the bacteria into the blood of such person. This is the way malaria spreads. Filaria is also very common along the coastal area of the country, particularly konkan region. There are many species of mosquitoes. Out of it, Anopheles spreads malaria on large scale while Yellow-Fever-Mosquito causes yellow fever. A breed of mosquito called Culex is a transmitter of Encephalitis. This virus attacks the central nervous systems of vertebrates. Characteristics of mosquitoes: Male mosquitoes live on plants. Female mosquito needs human blood before laying eggs for their ovaries to mature and for their eggs to develop. They lay eggs either on stagnant water or on marsh. At a single time it lays 200 to 400 eggs. 2 to 4 days after laying eggs, worms come out of eggs. They swim in water to get sufficient air. They seem to float on water but when they move, they go down to bottom. After 10 days, worms change into grubs. Grubs dont eat anything. Young mosquitoes come out of grubs after 2 to 3 days. They come out flying when it is dark. They sit in dark places. Ways to keep mosquitoes away: a. Mosquitoes are often found near water. Put some fish and ducks in small water bodies like ponds. They eat worms of mosquitoes and keep water clean. b. If stagnant water is allowed to soak in pits, mosquitoes dont grow and spread. c. Never allow the water to settle outside / inside the premise. d. Always keep all the eatables and drinking water covered. e. Wash your hands thoroughly before eating and every time after you use washroom. f. Keep bathrooms and toilets clean. g. Drink water which is safe and filtered. h. Apply repellent cream on your body so that mosquitoes wont bite. i. Use mosquito net while sleeping. House flies are also very dangerous and spread diseases like Cholera, parasitic worms etc. These flies live around houses and lay eggs on dung, rubbish and feces. Small worms come out of eggs within 15 to 20 hours. They grow in full in about two weeks. When they sit on feces, dung and rubbish for laying eggs, they catch bacteria of various diseases on their legs. The same fly sits on open eatables. Thus bacteria of that disease are let on eatables and people who eat them get infected by that disease.

Protection from flies: Always cover rubbish and feces with soil or dust. Always keep all the eatables and drinking water covered. Get protective vaccines for such diseases. Over head tanks need to be covered. Drink water which is safe and filtered.

Summary
Here is the summary of what we have learned in this chapter: Sanitation is the process of treating and disposing of human waste properly to improve hygiene and health conditions. Aeration of sewage and partial burning of sewage without air are two different methods of sanitation. Septic tank system is the best solution to dispose of human waste. In this system solid waste is collected and liquid effluent is released in the soil for purification. Proper installation and regular maintenance of septic system is important. Mosquitoes and flies also spread diseases. By taking proper care and precautions, you can keep away from it.