Automation of Delivery Device for Chlorine Dioxide Disinfection

Poster: 1st Place (The Ohio State University Edward F. Hayes Graduate Research Forum)Although water reuse has been practiced in many countries for centuries, severe water scarcity in many parts of the world has aroused renewed interest. In addition, the health risks posed by untreated wastewater emphasize the need to prevent the spread of fecal-oral pathogens through adequately disinfecting wastewater. Though chlorine has widely been used as a disinfectant, its inability to inactivate certain microorganisms and its role in the formation of cancerous trihalomethanes has created the search for alternatives. Chlorine-dioxide has been found to be an effective replacement, though it poses some inherent safety issues being explosive at concentrations of 10% (w/w) or more, sensitive to pressure, and somewhat toxic to juvenile fish. Small packets of precursor chemicals are now commercially available to generate small quantities of chlorine dioxide onsite. The aim of this research was to develop an automated delivery device for dispensing this disinfectant in the form of a packet, which would strongly mitigate safety issues and make the dispenser user-friendly. The automation of the delivery device involved the design of a 30-slot Geneva mechanism to drop the packet into a chamber. This packet-dropping mechanism was designed for use both in a manual mode, requiring no use of electricity, and an automated mode, powered through electricity. A fully functional prototype was built to demonstrate the automation of a disinfection delivery device. Disinfected water is safe for discharge on open lawns and gardens, since the chlorite ion, a byproduct, is present in low concentrations. However, wastewater discharge and reuse may be subject to local or state regulations.No embarg

The role of packaged water in meeting global targets on improved water access

Packaged water (as either refill, bottled, or sachet water) has become an important element of water security in many low- and middle-income countries, owing to poor reliability and lack of piped water infrastructure. However, over time and across countries, the Demographic and Health Surveys monitoring program has inconsistently classified packaged water components as either improved or unimproved. Using data collected as part of the Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020 (PMA2020) surveys on water options in nine study geographies across eight countries, we identified five geographies where packaged water constituted one of several options for 5% or more of users. In this study, four scenarios were designed in which packaged water components were variously classified as either improved or unimproved. Unimproved water use was highest in scenarios where sachet or refill water was classified as an unimproved source. Across the four scenarios, the difference in the use of unimproved water as the main option was highest (65%) in Nigeria (Lagos). That difference increased to 78% when considering all regular options. The development of these scenarios highlights the importance of classifying a source as improved or unimproved in the overall metric that indicates progress at national and international levels.IS

High-risk water and sanitation practices: evidence of underreporting from eight countries

Water and sanitation indicators in the erstwhile Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) failed to capture high-risk practices such as unimproved water consumption and open defecation undertaken on a regular basis. In conjunction with local partners, we used a mobile platform to implement representative randomized household surveys in eight countries across Asia and Africa (n=245,054) to quantify the presence and magnitude of such underreporting. Our study identified the use of high-risk practices as a regular option to be greater than their use as the main option. Across the study areas, this consistent underreporting amounted to 26 million (unimproved water) and 50 million (open defecation) people not being targeted for suitable policy interventions. A deeper analysis of Ghana shows poor and rural households are more likely to engage in high-risk practices. Current metrics inflate water and sanitation progress, and need to be adapted for the complex world we live in

Public Opinion on Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Issues

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Underreporting of high-risk water and sanitation practices undermines progress on global targets.

Water and sanitation indicators under the Millennium Development Goals failed to capture high-risk practices undertaken on a regular basis. In conjunction with local partners, fourteen rounds of household surveys using mobile phones with a customized open-source application were conducted across nine study geographies in Asia and Africa. In addition to the main water and sanitation facilities, interviewees (n = 245,054) identified all water and sanitation options regularly used for at least one season of the year. Unimproved water consumption and open defecation were targeted as high-risk practices. We defined underreporting as the difference between the regular and main use of high-risk practices. Our estimates of high-risk practices as the main option matched the widely accepted Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) estimates within the 95% confidence interval. However, estimates of these practices as a regular option was far higher than the DHS estimates. Across the nine geographies, median underreporting of unimproved water use was 5.5%, with a range of 0.5% to 13.9%. Median underreporting of open defecation was much higher at 9.9%, with a range of 2.7% to 11.5%. This resulted in an underreported population of 25 million regularly consuming unimproved water and 50 million regularly practicing open defecation. Further examination of data from Ethiopia suggested that location and socio-economic factors were significant drivers of underreporting. Current global monitoring relies on a framework that considers the availability and use of a single option to meet drinking water and sanitation needs. Our analysis demonstrates the use of multiple options and widespread underreporting of high-risk practices. Policies based on current monitoring data, therefore, fail to consider the range of challenges and solutions to meeting water and sanitation needs, and result in an inflated sense of progress. Mobile surveys offer a cost-effective and innovative platform to rapidly and repeatedly monitor critical development metrics

Tracking Policy Implications and Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Related Executive Actions on a Sampling of Foreign-born Early Career Researchers in the U.S.

Impact of COVID-19 and related executive actions on international scholars in the US