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Author

Duncan Mara

Other affiliations: University of Nairobi
Bio: Duncan Mara is an academic researcher from University of Leeds. The author has contributed to research in topics: Stabilization pond & Sanitation. The author has an hindex of 46, co-authored 185 publications receiving 9182 citations. Previous affiliations of Duncan Mara include University of Nairobi.


Papers
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Book
01 Jan 1983
TL;DR: This book is intended for the wide spectrum of professionals concerned with sanitation and public health and contains twenty eight chapters, each describing the environmental properties of a specific excreted pathogen or group of excreting pathogens and the epidemiology and control of the infections these pathogens cause.
Abstract: Public health is of central importance in the design and implementation of excreta disposal projects, and better health is the main social and economic benefit that planners and economists hope to gain by investing in excreta disposal systems. To achieve this gain as much information as possible is needed about the interactions between excreta and health - information not only about broad epidemiological issues of disease prevention through improved excreta disposal, but also about the effect of particular excreta disposal and reuse technologies on the survival and dissemination of particular pathogens. This book sets out to provide such information for a broad readership. It is intended for the wide spectrum of professionals concerned with sanitation and public health. The book has two parts. Part one, entitled "The Health Hazards of Excreta: Theory and Control," presents a distillation of available knowledge about excreta, night soil, and sewage and their effects on health. Part two, entitled "Environmental Biology and Epidemiology of Specific Excreted Pathogens," contains twenty eight chapters, each describing the environmental properties of a specific excreted pathogen or group of excreted pathogens and the epidemiology and control of the infections these pathogens cause.

917 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The importance of improved sanitation to health and the role that the health sector can play in its advocacy is discussed.
Abstract: As one article in a four-part PLoS Medicine series on water and sanitation, David Trouba and colleagues discuss the importance of improved sanitation to health and the role that the health sector can play in its advocacy.

515 citations

Book
01 Sep 2004
TL;DR: What is Domestic Wastewater and Why Treat It and how is it used?
Abstract: Affordable and effective domestic wastewater treatment is a critical issue in public health and disease prevention around the world, particularly so in developing countries which often lack the financial and technical resources necessary for proper treatment facilities. This practical guide provides state-of-the-art coverage of methods for domestic wastewater treatment and provides a foundation to the practical design of wastewater treatment and re-use systems. The emphasis is on low-cost, low-energy, low-maintenance, high-performance 'natural' systems that contribute to environmental sustainability by producing effluents that can be safely and profitably used in agriculture for crop irrigation and/or in aquaculture, for fish and aquatic vegetable pond fertilization. Modern design methodologies, with worked design examples, are described for waste stabilization ponds, wastewater storage and treatment reservoirs; constructed wetlands, upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors, biofilters, aerated lagoons and oxidation ditches. This book is essential reading for engineers, academics and upper-level and graduate students in engineering, wastewater management and public health, and others interested in sustainable and cost-effective technologies for reducing wastewater-related diseases and environmental damage.

509 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Three different approaches for establishing guidelines for the microbiological quality of treated wastewater that is reused for agriculture are reviewed and a combined approach is more cost-effective than the first approach and adequately protects public health.
Abstract: Three different approaches for establishing guidelines for the microbiological quality of treated wastewater that is reused for agriculture are reviewed. These approaches have different objectives as their outcomes: the absence of faecal indicator organisms in the wastewater, the absence of a measurable excess of cases of enteric disease in the exposed population and a model-generated estimated risk below a defined acceptable risk. If the second approach (using empirical epidemiological studies supplemented by microbiological studies of the transmission of pathogens) is used in conjunction with the third approach (using a model-based quantitative risk assessment for selected pathogens) a powerful tool is produced that aids the development of regulations. This combined approach is more cost-effective than the first approach and adequately protects public health. The guideline limit for faecal coliform bacteria in unrestricted irrigation (41000 faecal coliform bacteria/ 100 ml) is valid, but for restricted irrigation 410 5 faecal coliform bacteria/100 ml is recommended when adult farmworkers are exposed to spray irrigation. A limit of 410 3 faecal coliform bacteria/100 ml is recommended if flood irrigation is used or children are exposed. The guideline limit for nematode eggs for both types of irrigation is adequate except when conditions favour the survival of nematode eggs and where children are exposed; in these cases it should be reduced from 41 egg/l to 40.1 egg/l.

346 citations


Cited by
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Book
01 Jan 1976
TL;DR: Water quality for agriculture, water quality in agriculture for agriculture as mentioned in this paper, water quality of agriculture, Water quality of water for agriculture in agriculture, مرکز فناوری اطلاعات و اسلاز رسانی
Abstract: Water quality for agriculture , Water quality for agriculture , مرکز فناوری اطلاعات و اطلاع رسانی کشاورزی

3,518 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The evidence is sufficient to warrant interventions for malaria, intrauterine growth restriction, maternal depression, exposure to violence, and exposure to heavy metals, including iron deficiency anaemia.

1,869 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the technical applicability of various physico-chemical treatments for the removal of heavy metals such as Cd(II), Cr(III, Cr(VI), Cu(II, Ni(II) and Zn(II).

1,732 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Several cases on the successful use of regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) in fruit trees and vines are reviewed, showing that RDI not only increases water productivity, but also farmers' profits.
Abstract: At present and more so in the future, irrigated agriculture will take place under water scarcity. Insufficient water supply for irrigation will be the norm rather than the exception, and irrigation management will shift from emphasizing production per unit area towards maximizing the production per unit of water consumed, the water productivity. To cope with scarce supplies, deficit irrigation, defined as the application of water below full crop-water requirements (evapotranspiration), is an important tool to achieve the goal of reducing irrigation water use. While deficit irrigation is widely practised over millions of hectares for a number of reasons—from inadequate network design to excessive irrigation expansion relative to catchment supplies—it has not received sufficient attention in research. Its use in reducing water consumption for biomass production, and for irrigation of annual and perennial crops is reviewed here. There is potential for improving water productivity in many field crops and there is sufficient information for defining the best deficit irrigation strategy for many situations. One conclusion is that the level of irrigation supply under deficit irrigation should be relatively high in most cases, one that permits achieving 60–100% of full evapotranspiration. Several cases on the successful use of regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) in fruit trees and vines are reviewed, showing that RDI not only increases water productivity, but also farmers’ profits. Research linking the physiological basis of these responses to the design of RDI strategies is likely to have a significant impact in increasing its adoption in water-limited areas.

1,540 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Microalgae cultures offer an elegant solution to tertiary and quandary treatments due to the ability of microalgae to use inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus for their growth, therefore, it does not lead to secondary pollution.

1,109 citations