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TitlePoint of use water treatment in emergency response
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2012
AuthorsLantagne, DS, Clasen, T
Paginationp. 30 - 52; 3 tab.; 3 fig.
Date Published2012-01-01
PublisherPractical Action Publishing Ltd.
Place PublishedRugby, UK
Keywordsceramic filters, child health, child hygiene, chlorination, coagulants/flocculants, contact flocculation filtration, diarrhoeal diseases, disinfectants, drinking water, filtration, mortality, point-of-use treatment, safe water supply, sand filtration, solar distillation, water treatment
Abstract

An estimated 4 billion cases of diarrhea each year, causing 1.8 million deaths mainly among children under five years of age, are caused by unsafe drinking water, poor sanitation, and poor hygiene. In the development context, five point-of-use water treatment (PoUWT) options - chlorination, flocculant/ disinfectant powder, solar disinfection, ceramic filtration, and biosand filtration – have been shown to improve household water microbiological quality and reduce diarrheal disease in users, and another, boiling, is widely promoted. Based on this evidence, the World Health Organization (WHO) promotes PoUWT to provide safe drinking water for the 884 million people without access to improved water supplies and the millions more drinking microbiologically unsafe water.
Safe drinking water is also an immediate priority in most emergencies. When normal water supplies are interrupted or compromised due to natural disasters, complex emergencies, or outbreaks, responders often encourage affected populations to boil or disinfect their drinking water to ensure its microbiological integrity. Recently, PoUWT options verified in the development context have been recommended for use in emergencies. [authors abstract]

NotesWith bibliography on p. 49 - 52
Custom 1203.1

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