Estimates of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Biochemical Oxygen Demand, and Fecal Coliforms Entering the Environment Due to Inadequate Sanitation Treatment Technologies in 108 Low and Middle Income Countries
Open accessAbstract
Understanding the excretion and treatment of human waste (feces and urine) in low and middle income countries (LMICs) is necessary to design appropriate waste management strategies. However, excretion and treatment are often difficult to quantify due to decentralization of excreta management. We address this gap by developing a mechanistic, stochastic model to characterize phosphorus, nitrogen, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and fecal coliform pollution from human excreta for 108 LMICs. The model estimates excretion and treatment given three scenarios: (1) use of existing sanitation systems, (2) use of World Health Organization-defined "improved sanitation", and (3) use of best available technologies. Our model estimates that more than 10(9) kg/yr each of phosphorus, nitrogen and BOD are produced. Of this, 22(19-27)%, 11(7-15)%, 17(10-23)%, and 35 (23-47)% (mean and 95% range) BOD, nitrogen, phosphorus, and fecal coliforms, respectively, are removed by existing sanitation systems. Our model estimates that upgrading to "improved sanitation" increases mean removal slightly to between 17 and 53%. Under the best available technology scenario, only approximately 60-80% of pollutants are treated. To reduce impact of nutrient and microbial pollution on human and environmental health, improvements in both access to adequate sanitation and sanitation treatment efficiency are needed.
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Currently, more than 70% of sewage produced in LMICs is estimated to flow into the environment untreated.
“Currently, more than 70% of sewage produced in LMICs is estimated to flow into the environment untreated 86,87 .”
From Urban informal settlements as hotspots of antimicrobial resistance and the need to curb environmental transmission. (2020) · cites this paper as [87]
The paper’s Section 2 reports that existing sanitation systems remove only 11–22% of the modeled BOD, nitrogen and phosphorus in human excreta across 108 LMICs, consistent with more than 70% of those pollutants remaining untreated. It does not estimate the proportion of sewage produced that flows into the environment untreated; its estimate for fecal coliforms is also different, with 35% removed. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Fuhrmeister, E. R., Schwab, K. J., & Julian, T. R.
- Affiliations
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Julian, Timothy R.
- Venue
- Environmental Science & Technology
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2015-09-11
- Volume
- 49
- Issue
- 19
- Pages
- 11604-11611
- ISSN
- 0013-936X (ISSN-L)
- 1520-5851
- OpenAlex
- W1255704852
- Cited by
- 35
- References
- 33
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 2
- FWCI
- 4.19
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.dora.lib4ri.ch
- Licence
- other-oa
- Locations
- Environmental Science & Technology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DORA Eawag (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag)) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Johns Hopkins Water Institute
- Osprey Foundation of Maryland, Inc.
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Waste Management and Disposal › Wastewater Treatment and Reuse
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Fecal contamination and water quality
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts
- Keywords
- sanitation, human excreta, nitrogen pollution, phosphorus pollution, biochemical oxygen demand, fecal coliforms, wastewater treatment efficiency, improved sanitation, best available techniques, low- and middle-income countries, nutrient pollution, microbial contamination, excreta management
- MeSH terms
- Developing Countries, Enterobacteriaceae, Environmental Pollution, Feces, Humans, Models, Theoretical, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorus, Sanitation, Stochastic Processes, Waste Disposal, Fluid, Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis
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