Safe and Equitable Sanitation
About
Half of the world’s population lacks access to safe sanitation, which contributes to loss of dignity, lower rates of schooling (especially for girls), the spread of infectious diseases, and environmental degradation. Our group contributes to research that can lead to the design of sanitation solutions that reduce exposure to pathogens in the household environment, as well as for sanitation workers. We have also developed innovative toilet designs to ensure high level of inactivation of pathogens. Yet another focus of our research is designing and testing technologies that can produce useful products from waste, which can motivate the adoption of sanitation, and provision of complete sanitation solutions by service providers. Click here to learn more about our nutrient recovery research area.
Selected Publications
Tarpeh, W.A., Clark, W.A., Nelson, K.L., and Orner, K.D. (2022). Reimagining excreta as a resource: Recovering nitrogen from urine in Nairobi, Kenya. In: An Introduction to Development Engineering. Springer.
Fuhrmeister, E.R., A. Ercumen, J.A. Grembi, M. Islam, A.J. Pickering, and K.L. Nelson. (2020) “Shared Bacterial Communities between Soil, Stored Drinking Water, and Hands in Rural Bangladeshi Households.” Water Research X. 9:100056. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wroa.2020.100056.
Fuhrmeister, E., Ercumen , A., Pickering, A., Jeanis, K., Crider, Y., Ahmed, M., Brown, S., Alam, M., Sen, D., Islam, S., Kabir, M.H., Islam, M., Rahman , M., Kwong, L., Arnold, B., Luby, S., Colford, J., Nelson, K.L. (2020) “Effect of sanitation improvements on pathogens and microbial source tracking markers in the rural Bangladeshi household environment.” Environmental Science & Technology. 54(7):4316-4326. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b04835
Fuhrmeister, E.R., A. Ercumen, A.J. Pickering, K.M. Jeanis, M. Ahmed, S. Brown, B.F. Arnold, A.E. Hubbard, M. Alam, D. Sen, M.H. Kabir, L.H. Kwong, M. Islam, L. Unicomb, M. Rahman, A.B. Boehm, S.P. Luby, J.M. Colford, K.L. Nelson. (2019) “Predictors of Enteric Pathogens in the Domestic Environment from Human and Animal Sources in Rural Bangladesh.” Environmental Science & Technology. 53(17):10023-10033. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b07192.
Hyun, C., Z. Burt, Y. Crider, K.L. Nelson, C.S.S. Prasad, S.D.G. Rayasam, W. Tarpeh, and I. Ray. (2019) “Sanitation for Low-Income Regions: A Cross-Disciplinary Review.” Annual Review of Environment and Resources. 44:2.1-2.32. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-101718-033327.
Mertens, A., B.F. Arnold, J. Benjamin-Chung, A.B. Boehm, J. Brown, D. Capone, T. Clasen, et al. (2023). “Effects of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Interventions on Detection of Enteropathogens and Host-Specific Faecal Markers in the Environment: A Systematic Review and Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis.” The Lancet Planetary Health 7; 3: e197–208. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(23)00028-1
Kwong, L.H., D. Sen, S. Islam, S. Shahriar, J. Benjamin-Chung, B.F. Arnold, A. Hubbard, S.M. Parvez, M. Islam, L. Unicomb, M.M. Rahman, K. Nelson, J.M. Colford, S.P. Luby, A. Ercumen (2021). “Effect of Sanitation Improvements on Soil-Transmitted Helminth Eggs in Courtyard Soil from Rural Bangladesh: Evidence from a Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial.” PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 15(7): e0008815. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008815.
Sklar, R., Z. Zhou, W. Ndayisaba, A. Muspratt, E.R. Fuhrmeister, K. Nelson, and S.K. Hammond. (2021) “Risk of Adenovirus and Cryptosporidium Ingestion to Sanitation Workers in a Municipal Scale Non-Sewered Sanitation Process: A Case Study from Kigali, Rwanda.” Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development. https://doi.org/10.2166/washdev.2021.241.
Ogunyoku, Temitope A., and Kara L. Nelson. (2016). “In-Toilet Disinfection of Fresh Fecal Sludge with Ammonia Naturally Present in Excreta.” Journal of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene for Development. https://doi.org/10.2166/washdev.2015.233
Clasen, T., Fabini, D.; Boisson, S., Taneja, J., Song, J., Aichinger, E., Bui, A., Dadashi, S., Schmidt, W.P., Burt, Z., Nelson, K (2012) “Making sanitation count: Developing and testing a device for assessing latrine use in low-income settings.” Environmental Science and Technology, 46(6):3295-3303.
K.L. Nelson and A. Murray (2008) “Sanitation for Unserved Populations: Technologies, Implementation Challenges, and Opportunities.” Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 33:119-151.
Ray, I., Burt, Z. and K. Nelson (2016) Toward Gender Equality Through Sanitation. United Nations Discussion Paper.
Kone, D., Cofie, O.O., and K. Nelson (2010) “Low-cost options for pathogen reduction and nutrient recovery from faecal sludge.” In Wastewater Irrigation and Health: Assessing and Mitigating Risk in Low-Income Countries. Eds P. Drechsel, C.A. Scott, L. Raschid-Sally, M. Redwood, and A. Bahri. Earthscan, London, p. 171-188.