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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2001, p. 4036-4040, Vol. 67, No. 9
Department of Biological
Sciences1 and Center for Environmental
Resource Management,2 The University of
Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas 79968
Received 2 April 2001/Accepted 15 June 2001
The dry-composting toilet, which uses neither water nor
sewage infrastructure, is a practical solution in areas with inadequate sewage disposal and where water is limited. These systems are becoming
increasingly popular and are promoted to sanitize human excreta and to
recycle them into fertilizer for nonedible plants, yet there are few
data on the safety of this technology. This study analyzed fecal
coliform reduction in approximately 90 prefabricated, dry-composting
toilets (Sistema Integral de Reciclamiento de Desechos Orgánicos
[SIRDOs]) that were installed on the U.S.-Mexico border in Ciudad
Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. The purpose of this study was to
determine fecal coliform reduction over time and the most probable
method of this reduction. Biosolid waste samples were collected and
analyzed at approximately 3 and 6 months and were classified based on
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards. Results showed that
class A compost (high grade) was present in only 35.8% of SIRDOs after
6 months. The primary mechanism for fecal coliform reduction was found
to be desiccation rather than biodegradation. There was a significant
correlation (P = 0.008) between classification rating
and percent moisture categories of the biosolid samples: drier samples
had a greater proportion of class A samples. Solar exposure was
critical for maximal class A biosolid end products (P = 0.001). This study only addressed fecal coliforms as an indicator
organism, and further research is necessary to determine the safety of
composting toilets with respect to other pathogenic microorganisms,
some of which are more resistant to desiccation.
0099-2240/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AEM.67.9.4036-4040.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Survival of Fecal Coliforms in Dry-Composting
Toilets
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Biological Sciences, University of Texas, El Paso, TX 79968. Phone:
(915) 747-6995. Fax: (915) 747-5808. E-mail:
thomasr{at}utep.edu.
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