Occupational Health Risk Assessment for Wastewater Treatment and Reuse in Kanpur, India
Folake Monsurat Babalola1, Lena Breitenmoser2, Claire Furlong1
1IHE Delft, Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611 AX Delft, The Netherlands.
Summary
A novel wastewater treatment using integrated permeate channel (IPC) membranes and constructed wetlands reduced health risks for farmers and their children. While sewage treatment plant (STP) workers faced more risks, their severity was lower, highlighting effective sanitation safety planning.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Engineering
- Occupational Health
- Public Health
Background:
- Wastewater reuse for irrigation poses occupational health risks to sewage treatment plant (STP) workers and farmers.
- Sanitation Safety Planning (SSP) offers a framework for assessing and mitigating these risks.
- Evaluating novel treatment technologies is crucial for improving water safety and worker health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the occupational health impacts of a novel secondary wastewater treatment process (IPC membrane + constructed wetland) compared to the existing activated sludge system in Kanpur, India.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of the Sanitation Safety Planning (SSP) approach in risk assessment for novel treatment technologies.
- To determine the influence of improved irrigation water quality on the health risks for farmers and their children.
Main Methods:
- A mixed-methods approach combining key informant interviews, structured observations, and E. coli analysis.
- Semi-quantitative risk assessments were conducted using the Sanitation Safety Planning (SSP) framework.
- Comparison of occupational health risks between the novel treatment system and the conventional activated sludge process.
Main Results:
- The novel treatment process increased the number of health risks for STP workers but reduced their severity.
- Farmers experienced a decrease in both the number and severity of health risks.
- The microbiological quality of irrigation water improved, leading to reduced health impact severity for farmers' children.
Conclusions:
- Novel treatment technologies, like IPC membranes combined with constructed wetlands, can alter occupational health risk profiles.
- Semi-quantitative risk assessment using SSP is valuable for evaluating the occupational health impacts of new wastewater treatment technologies.
- Improved wastewater treatment significantly enhances the safety of water reuse for irrigation, benefiting both agricultural workers and their families.
Keywords:
agricultural reuseconstructed wetland plusintegrated permeate channel membranesanitation safety planningsemi-quantitative risk assessmenttechnological control measuresMore Related Videos
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