Rethinking the unthinkable - effectiveexcreta disposal in emergency situationsby Jim Howard

Thoughts about the needs of people living inrefugee camps usually focus on food, water, andmedical care. Who wants to dwell on theunpleasant (if necessary) removal of vastamounts of human waste? Technical solutionscan be found if fresh, creative thinking is appliedto sanitation engineering.

THINKING ON SANITATION inemergencies - compared with otherinterventions such as water supply andmedicine - is surrounded by a lot ofconfusion, reflected in the lack of pre-pared equipment and packages.

The fundamental problem is that,whilst supplying water and foodinvolves bringing in welcome inputs tothe needy population, sanitation (par-ticularly excreta disposal) concernstaking away a daily production ofunwelcome and unpleasant humanexcreta. Talking about the subject isdifficult, even for professionals in the

field (witness the number ofeuphemisms commonly used forhuman shit), and agencies usually tryto deal with it on the cheap. I

Many current attitudes display a ten-dency to excuse bad engineering byover-stressing the software side of san-itation, which is only of use when sup-porting a well-prepared, physical engi-neering input.

The answer lies in having well-thought-out and tested sanitationequipment, to provide facilities whichare welcomed by people in emergen-cies. This is not available today.

Because sanitation needs are veryspecific to terrain, climate, culture,duration of the situation etc., there hasto be a wide range of technical optionsavailable.

Desperate measures ...• Sewage storage, India 1971. Whencivil war erupted in East Pakistan in197 I, around 10 million refugees nedover the border into India. Torrentialmonsoon rains turned the 100 or socamp sites into quagmires of water andsewage, with serious outbreaks ofdysentery and cholera. Oxfam's emer-gency solution was to build sewage-containment ponds, ringed by plasticlatrine plates, with pipes discharginginto the pond. Well-used, the units'operating time was limited beforedesludging became necessary; tlylarvae were a severe problem.• Oxfam sanitation unit, Bangladesh,1972-80.As a direct result of this India experi-ence, Oxfam manufactured over 100sanitation units in what had becomeBangladesh, based on enclosed storageand treatment, using two 18 OOO-litre

Rwandan refugees cross the Rusizi bridge into Zaire at Bukavu, August 1994.

WATERLINES VOL. 15 NO.1 JULY 1996 5

pillow tanks (made of flexible plastic,also known as bladder tanks), and 20latrine plates. The University of Surreycarried out detailed field studies oftheir effectiveness in sewage treatment,the elimination of cholera, and the con-trol of parasites. Although initiallydesigned for 1000 people, on anyoneday each unit was used by up to 3000.2• Sea-water .flush sewerage system,Pulau Sidong, Malaysia 1978-9.This small, uninhabited volcanic islandin the South China Sea was 'home' forup to 50 000 Vietnamese refugee boat-people. All requirements had to beshipped the 12 miles from the main-land, including all water supplies. Veryquickly the small beaches and the sur-rounding sea were thick with humanexcreta and, as the situation becameintolerable, the people placed their exc-reta into the plastic food-bags and castthem offshore to drift with the current.The authorities became alarmed whenthousands of noxious 'balloons' floatedinto high-class tourist resorts.

Oxfam installed a 50 OOO-litrewater-storage tank, on a high point of theisland; sea water was pumped from thebeach to the tank, and then used toflush a 200mm plastic sewer pipewhich crossed the main living area of

EIII'XoC'iijalIII

'".c:(.)

Women build an Ox/am tankMu/?ull/?a, August 1994.

the camp. A numberof latrine blocks -each containing 20latrine plateswere constructedalong, and con-nected to, the sewerpipe. The sewer fol-lowed a gradientsteep enough to pre-vent excreta fromsticking to the sides,and dischargedthrough a sub-merged outlet wellclear of the island.The gravity systemdealt well with thesewage of up to50 000 people.Varying numbers ofrefugees continuedto live on PulauBidong for severalyears, and the sys-tem was modified:the tanks were sec-tional steel plates(Braithwaite pat-tern), the mainsewer pipe was a200mm push-fittype, and both plas-tic and wooden

III the Goma camp of latrine plates wereused. The sea-watersupply also came in

useful to fight fires; a serious risk inwhat were the densest of living condi-tions, with people living in flimsy, two-and three-storey bamboo structures.

For the futureLessons learned from these experi-ences include:• each situation is different, but several

technical options are available;• people like, and will use, safe, clean,

private latrine facilities;• the user need not be aware of, or

involved in, the type of treatmentor disposal system being used, butis very aware of her or his pointof contact. The facilities must beuser-friendly for men, women, andchildren;

• it is important to ascertain and pro-vide for the anal-cleansing habitsused by that population. What can beprovided - water, soap, paper?

• more thought should be given tousing mechanical means to preparedefecation areas and trench latrines:trenches can be cut deeper, with morecontrolled width, suitable for bridg-ing with lightweight, movable latrinestructures.

.Oxfam-type water tanks - bolted,

corrugated-steel tanks - either linedor unlined, could be used for sewagecontainment or even treatment,particularly where there are naturalgradients;

• more thought should be given totransporting sewage off sites. Agen-cies often get involved with trans-porting water; the volumes of sewagewould normally be much smaller, andcarried over far shorter distances thanwater. Pumping of sewage, particu-larly if macerated (ground up), couldalso overcome problems on certainsites; the site collection of sewage -via plastic buckets with lids suppliedto each family - is not beyond therealms of possibility, and is alreadyused extensively in different parts ofthe world.As a part of good camp management,

the maximum possible amount ofhuman excreta and refuseshould be removed and disposed ofoutside the camp area. These are a fewthoughts; fresh and more creativethinking on engineering preparednessis urgently needed from every agency.NotesI. For the historical perspective, see 'People areat the heart of sanitation'. de long, D.,Waterlines. Vol. 14. No, 3.2. Details of the Oxfam sanitation unit. andbiological studies, are available from Oxfam.

Jim Howard worked with Oxfam for 30 years.during which time he established Oxfam'sTechnical Unit. Contact /rim on: +44 1235520fJ72,

ACTION~fTTTm~.~

ACTION AGAINSTHUNGER RECRUITS:

WATER, SANITATION ANDIRRIGATION ENGINEERS (AS

WELL AS DOCTORS, NURSES,NUTRITIONISTS,ACCOUNTANTS,

LOGISTICIANS, ANDPROGRAMME MANAGERS)

French speakers preferred.Interviews in London.

Action Against Hunger is a French-based NGO wor1<ing in the areas ofrelief, rehabilitation & development.We aim to relieve populations whosebasic needs are threatened and toenable them to regain theirautonomy and self-sufficiency assoon as possible. We offer 12months paid contracts which includeinsurance and travel costs.

Send CV quoting ref WL 1 to:Sally Tillett, Action Against Hunger1 Catton Street, London WC1R 4ABFax: 0171 831 4259

6 WATERLINES VOL. 15 NO.1 JULY 1996