About half of the rural population of Cambodia lacks access to improved water; an even higher percentage lacks access to latrines. More than 35,000 concrete BioSand Water filters (BSF) have been installed in the country. However, the concrete BSF takes time to produce and weighs hundreds of pounds. A plastic BSF has been developed but may not perform to the same benchmarks established by its predecessor. To evaluate plastic BSF performance and health impact, we performed a cluster randomized controlled trial in 13 communities including 189 households and 1147 participants in the Angk Snoul district of Kandal Province from May to December 2008. The results suggest that villages with plastic BSFs had significantly lower concentrations of E. coli in drinking water and lower diarrheal disease (incidence rate ratio 0.41, 95% confidence interval: 0.24–0.69) compared to control villages. As one of the first studies on the plastic BSF in Cambodia, these are important findings, especially in a setting where the concrete BSF has seen high rates of continued use years after installation. The study suggests the plastic BSF may play an important role in scaling up the distribution/implementation of the BSF, potentially improving water quality and health in the region.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/es203114q

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Data synthesis: Evidence from epidemiologic studies and meta-analyses showed indoor dampness or mold to be associated consistently with increased asthma development and exacerbation, current and ever diagnosis of asthma, dyspnea, wheeze, cough, respiratory infections, bronchitis, allergic rhinitis, eczema, and upper respiratory tract symptoms. Associations were found in allergic and nonallergic individuals. Evidence strongly suggested causation of asthma exacerbation in children. Suggestive evidence was available for only a few specific measured microbiologic factors and was in part equivocal, suggesting both adverse and protective associations with health.Conclusions: Evident dampness or mold had consistent positive associations with multiple allergic and respiratory effects. Measured microbiologic agents in dust had limited suggestive associations, including both positive and negative associations for some agents. Thus, prevention and remediation of indoor dampness and mold are likely to reduce health risks, but current evidence does not support measuring specific indoor microbiologic factors to guide health-protective actions.

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1002410

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Samples were extracted with different organic solvents, depending on the types of the products, followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis. Of the 18 investigated phthalates, diethyl phthalate (DEP), dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diisobutyl phthalate (DiBP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP) and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) were detected. The detection frequencies were in the following order: DEP (103 out of 252 products)>DnBP (15/252)>DiBP (9/252)>DEHP (8/252)>DMP (1/252). DEP was detected in almost all types of surveyed products with the highest levels (25,542 μg/g, equal to 2.6%) found in fragrances. DnBP was largely present in nail polish products with the highest concentration of 24,304 μg/g (2.4%). DnBP was also found in other products such as hair sprays, hair mousses, skin cleansers and baby shampoos at much lower concentrations (36 μg/g and less). Levels of other detected phthalates were generally low in the products. Based on these values, daily dermal exposure dosage to five phthalates was estimated for three age groups, female adults (60 kg); toddlers (0.5–4 years) and infants (0–6 months), through the use of cosmetic and personal care products. The exposure estimation, however, was based on existing products use pattern data, instead of probabilistic model based population use distribution. For female adults, the maximal daily exposure of 78 μg/kg bw/d was determined for DEP. The maximal daily exposure was much lower for the other four phthalates (DEHP, 0.82 μg/kg bw/d; DnBP, 0.36 μg/kg bw/d; and DMP, 0.03 μg/kg bw/d). The exposure for DiBP was not calculated due to its very low levels (<10 μg/g) in products. Toddlers and infants in this case had a maximal daily exposure to DEP of 20 and 42 μg/kg bw/d, respectively.

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2011.01.013

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► Comparison between MBR pilot plant and CAS-TT plant for the removal of some EDCs. ► Phthalates, nonylphenols, octylphenols, bisphenol A and estrogens have been studied. ► The MBR pilot plant eliminates the target compounds better than the CAS-TT.

doi:10.1016/j.desal.2011.01.026

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Knowledge of potential benefits resulting from technological interventions informs decision making and planning of water, sanitation, and hygiene programs. The public health field has built a body of literature showing health benefits from improvements in water quality. However, the connection between improvements in water quantity and health is not well documented. Understanding the connection between technological interventions and water use provides insight into this problem. We present a model predicting reductions in diarrhea disease burden when the water demands from hygiene and sanitation improvements are met by domestic rainwater harvesting (DRWH). The model is applied in a case study of 37 West African cities. For all cities, with a total population of over 10 million, we estimate that DRWH with 400 L storage capacity could result in a 9% reduction in disability-affected life years (DALYs). If DRWH is combined with point of use (POU) treatment, this potential impact is nearly doubled, to a 16% reduction in DALYs. Seasonal variability of diarrheal incidence may have a small to moderate effect on the effectiveness of DRWH, depending on the storage volume used. Similar predictions could be made for other interventions that improve water quantity in other locations where disease burden from diarrhea is known.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/es100798j

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