Dear Mughal,

Thanks a lot for your comments on the study.

Best regards
Nazim

Dear Dr. Nazim,

Thank you for your useful feedback. It is a interesting paper. I'm sure, new entrants in the field of sanitary engineering, will find a wealth of information in the paper.

Kind regards,

F H Mughal

Hi Mughal,

Thanks a lot for your comments and suggestions. As we cannot provide a range of issues and recommendations in the abstract due to the word limit for the journal. However, we have explained in detail in the article which is downloadable from the link provided.

Following are some of the major reasons and routs of contamination highlighted in this study:
1. During the collection and transportation of water from Water Kiosks (water points).
2. Majority of respondents use low quality, second hand and old water containers to collect, transport and store water from water kiosks to household levels.
3. Unhygienic practices, over half of the respondents do not boil water before drinking.
4. Unplanned disposal of household greywater on yard, pit and soak pit etc. In the case Mongolian Ger areas, the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) is very higher than any other country in the world and biological contaminants also a problem in the greywater. This practice is regular during the whole year and when summer comes then the hazards increase more than the winter.
5. There are some other reasons mentioned throughout the paper.

Regarding the recommendation on hygiene practice, it has been recommended in the last section of paper (Ways Forward).

The issue that you raised related to 'Cesspool' is very interesting and need to be considered in every study. However, in Mongolian case, due to unique context of climate (-40 degree C) with long winter and freezing level of soil is almost 4 meters, may not be a major issue. We did consider this issue in other study which is still under review. Hope we can share this in near future.

Many thanks for your remarks and interests. Hope these help.

Best regards

Nazim

Hi Makowka,

Thanks for your remarks. It is very essential to draw an attentions and to take necessary steps to reduce such kind of comprehensive hazards. In fact, we have to working here in Mongolia to test some solutions in terms of technology, sociology, economic aspects to provide some concrete guidelines with evidence for the government to deal with this and these can be applied in other parts of the low and middle income regions.

Best regards

Nazim

The abstract makes an interesting reading. I felt, as I was reading the abstract, that the abstract was highlighting conditions that we have here in rural areas of Sindh province (Pakistan). Same problems exist in rural Sindh, and as this time, no remedial measures are anticipated in near future.

The abstract says that 36% of household storage containers were contaminated by E. coli (12.5 E. coli per 100 ml) in winter, while, during the summer, 56% of household storage containers were contaminated (50 E. coli per 100 ml). In addition to the temperature effects, what were the other specific reasons for this? – may be more dipping of contaminated mugs in containers, due to increased use of water in summer??

The recommendations do not include personal and home hygiene. I thought, hygiene would be a key attribute in this case.

One of the WASH-related hazards is the odour caused by cesspools. This aspect is always ignored, even in this study as well. Why do we ignore the odour and air pollution problems in WASH-related interventions?

The study, beyond doubt, is very useful and interesting.

F H Mughal

Thanks for sharing this, very interesting; especially since this ACF project is one of the few with a really serious service chain approach to urban sanitation with dry-toilets.

I have been following it for a while now (got first in contact with it through the german IWRM-MoMo project in 2012) and I really think this deserves more attention even though it is a bit of an unusual setting (i.e. Mongolia).

Dear All,

Following is the article which has been published recently. You can get free access to the article by using the following link which is valid for 50 days, until November 7, 2014

authors.elsevier.com/a/1PjcziuWmivkF
or
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0197397514001295

Title- Exposure to WASH-borne hazards: A scoping study on peri-urban Ger areas in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Abstract

The present scoping study seeks to address the sources of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) exposure of residents of peri-urban Ger areas of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Field observations and semi-structured key informant interviews were carried out during 2012 and 2013 to assess the existing WASH situation in the peri-urban Ger areas of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. In addition, a knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) survey was conducted by Action Contre la Faim (ACF) Mongolia in 210 households to identify the sources of WASH-borne hazards in a statistically representative way. Moreover, the quality of drinking water was analyzed both at the household (n = 210) and water point (kiosk) (n = 40) levels to assess the risk of chemical and pathogenic contaminants. Both field observations and interviews revealed that the sanitary environment of the Ger residents is characterized by the lack of a drainage system, unimproved sanitation technology (e.g. unhygienic pit latrines and soak pits), unsafe water supply, and insufficient collection, transportation, and storage mechanisms. Poor infrastructure is associated with low standards of living. The transmission of WASH-borne disease (e.g. diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A) is the gravest consequence and source of hazards. The results from the water quality analysis demonstrate that Ger residents are more exposed to biological contamination of stored drinking water by Escherichia coli during the summer (May to August) than in the winter (November to February). During the winter, 36% of household storage containers were contaminated by E. coli at an average level of 12.5 E. coli per 100 ml, while, during the summer, 56% of household storage containers were contaminated at an average level of 50 E. coli per 100 ml. KAP surveys further reveal that the common practice of Ger residents to discharge greywater (with higher chemical oxygen demand) into pit latrines, soak-pits, yards, and streets likely causes environmental pollution and health hazards. Multifaceted WASH-borne exposure was addressed by the scoping study such that various WASH interventions could be planned for the study area and beyond. To tackle the above challenges and problems, a range of appropriate interventions and programs are recommended to reduce the exposure of WASH-borne hazards in the study area and other parts of the world – in both urban and peri-urban settings. The recommendations include: the development and implementation of a water safety plan (WSP), an effective monitoring system for collection, transportation and storage at both water kiosk and household levels, user training for correct use of water containers, effective coordination among stakeholders (including urban planners), development of a household greywater disposal system, and implementation of a functioning solid waste management system. Prior to taking these actions, a detailed study on the ‘pollution load from peri-urban to urban’ should be carried out to assess the WASH-borne vulnerability of both peri-urban and central urban population.

Highlights

•Multifaceted WASH-borne exposure was addressed in peri-urban context.
•Poor infrastructure is associated with low standards of living.
•The transmission of WASH-borne diseases is the gravest consequence and source of hazards.
•Summer is more hazardous than winter in terms of biological contaminations.
•Various WASH interventions are recommended to reduce the exposure of WASH-borne hazards.

Many thanks
Best greetigns

Nazim