Determined fight to eliminate risk of faecal sludge
In the refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, which have one of the highest population densities in the world, the disposal of wastewater, faeces and urine is a Herculean task. Monitoring the functioning of wastewater treatment plants is crucial in preventing the spread of disease. Switzerland has set up a laboratory in Bangladesh to analyse the liquid waste from faecal sludge treatment plants.
August 2017: hundreds of thousands of Rohingya flee Myanmar and the violence being perpetrated by the military and Buddhist militias. Most families end up in the Cox's Bazar district of neighbouring Bangladesh, which is now home to the world's largest complex of refugee camps. Around 1.2 million people live here in precarious conditions, crammed together in huts made of tarpaulin, bamboo and sheet metal. They have to contend with numerous hygiene problems, and face disease risks including acute diarrhoea, respiratory infections and skin diseases such as scabies.
Although the drinking water supply has improved, disposing of faecal sludge remains a major challenge, with 1,200 cubic metres of faecal waste being produced each day. It is an issue that plays a vital role in improving the living conditions of the refugees. The excreta from the communal latrines must be treated to a high standard in order to eliminate the pathogens and impurities that are naturally present. But, if the 205 wastewater treatment plants fail to treat the faecal sludge correctly or dump it directly into the environment without treating it at all, it can pose a serious threat to human health and the environment.
However, reliable data is needed to ensure adequate protection. That is why the SDC is helping the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) in Cox's Bazar to set up the Faecal Sludge Laboratory (FSL). "The FSL analyses the treated wastewater and ensures that the effluent adheres to the official standards for wastewater treatment. The aim is to ensure the health of the Rohingya and the host country's population," says Mohammad Shahidul Islam, head of the laboratory.
Swiss training in analytical techniques
The FSL began operating in January 2021. Switzerland supplied the equipment and resources to analyse around 1,000 samples per year and is paying the salaries of the six local employees. They received special training in analytical techniques, conducted by SDC experts, the Spiez Laboratory and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag). The lessons took place online and in the field. Testing procedures, sampling and documentation were discussed.
In addition to the head of the laboratory, the team consists of two lab technicians and three sample collectors. Four times a year, they travel in their specially equipped vehicle from one wastewater treatment plant to the next and collect the samples themselves; the laboratory does not accept samples taken by third parties.
Once the samples have been collected, it's time for the lab technicians to get to work. They analyse ten physical-chemical parameters, including pH, nitrate and phosphate levels as well as the presence of coliform bacteria. They then check whether the results meet the official requirements. If they lie outside the permitted range, the FSL informs the people in charge at the wastewater treatment plants in question and submits a written report describing the problems encountered. The plant operator then has one month to improve the treatment process, after which the FSL pays another visit. Where there is cause for alarm, the Ministry of the Environment may shut down the wastewater treatment plant temporarily until the operator can prove it is once again operating efficiently.
Direct effects on health and well-being
"Publishing the results lets us enter into a dialogue with the local actors on the measures that need to be taken," points out Didier Boissavi, who heads the United Nations Refugee Agency's (UNHCR) Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programmes in Cox's Bazar. Mohammad Shahidul stresses that "all the wastewater treatment plants are committed to implementing the processes," and adds: "the results improved 27.4% between the first and second sampling."
"As well as showing us how well the treatment plants are operating, the lab analyses corroborate which approaches and technologies are best suited to tackling the faecal sludge problem. They also bolster the authorities in monitoring the standard of the treated wastewater," says a delighted Didier Boissavi. Christopher Friedrich, a research associate at Eawag, is also satisfied with the data being collected in Cox's Bazar: "I can't stress enough how important this data is for the entire WASH area. It has a direct impact on the health and well-being of the residents of the refugee camps," he noted in a report last summer.
The wastewater disposal chain
The handling of faecal sludge is particularly complex in precarious humanitarian settings. Where there is no proper piped sewer system, human excreta are isolated in thousands of latrines, then collected, transported and treated as safely as possible. In densely populated areas such as the Cox's Bazar refugee camps, no link in the wastewater chain can be overlooked if health risks are to be avoided. High standards are all the more important given that the effluent from the latrines contain more pathogens than normal household wastewater. All of the faecal sludge at the Cox's Bazar refugee camps is now being extracted and taken to treatment plants. But there is still much to be done: it is important to ensure the volunteers are engaged in dignified work, but also to increase the efficiency of the wastewater treatment plants. "Setting up a wastewater analysis laboratory is part of the sanitation service chain, and it supports the efforts of the humanitarian actors because it reduces the risks to health and the environment," says Didier Boissavi, UNHCR WASH Officer in Cox's Bazar.
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