3.3 Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
Investigation results from the RCA are provided
in Table 2. During the study, it was found that
most of the respondents from the event site had
almost zero control or no safety measures, neither in terms of personal protective equipment
(e.g., gloves and boots) nor in terms of wastewater treatment techniques such as filtration and
sedimentation. The biggest risks identified during
field investigation were medical waste followed
by pesticide usage and risks implied by mosquitoes and flies. According to the field investigation, the presence of medical waste in the
wastewater stream can be considered as highly
hazardous and dangerous. Usually, these wastes
were handpicked and manually sorted by farmers, imposing even greater risks to farmer health.
Along with this, municipal solid waste and
weedicide usage were the major risk areas identified during FGD. Awareness about the current
environmental impacts, mitigation measures, and
existing hazards among users was very low,
followed by a lower amount of willingness for
treated wastewater irrigation and use. Most of the
respondents were found to apply minimal safety
measures. Also regarding the adverse effects of
different pesticides and weedicides the awareness
level was low, especially about which chemicals
are the most toxic or carcinogenic in nature.
There was a low awareness, in general, of the
cumulative effects of pesticide poisoning, which
often manifests itself in the gradual failure of the
immune system, making it less detectable by
health workers and epidemiologists (Satterthwaite 2003). Further study is still in progress to
assess the quantitative risk of event sites through
data collection and evaluation.
3.4 Field Inspections—Implications
of Wastewater Irrigation
The risks associated with wastewater use can be
due to microbiological and chemical contamination. The use of untreated wastewater in
agriculture has the risk of pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and
helminths, which are harmful to humans. These
microorganisms can enter the human body
through broken skin, direct ingestion, ingestion
following inadequate handwashing practices, and
inhalation. All excreted pathogens present in
wastewater can survive in soil, causing potential
risk to farmworkers. “Pathogens survive for a
lesser time on the crops, due to sunlight. However, it still can pose risk to crop handlers and
consumers” (FAO 1997).
Micropollutants are an emerging threat to the
safety of water bodies across the world. These
include diverse classes of chemicals, such as
pesticides, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, household chemicals, and surfactants
(Daughton and Thomas 1999). Some of these are
endocrine-disrupting compounds and natural
estrogens. The impact of these micropollutants
on human health and the environment is not yet
well understood (Cardenas Reyes et al. 2016).
Despite the presence of plant nutrients,
pathogens, organic pollutants, biodegradable
organics, and micropollutants in wastewater,
Fig. 6 Pumping wastewater directly to the field at
Govankoppa, Dharwad district; picture credit Ms. Susmita Banerjee
Sustainable and Safe Use of Wastewater …
49
Investigation results from the RCA are provided
in Table 2. During the study, it was found that
most of the respondents from the event site had
almost zero control or no safety measures, neither in terms of personal protective equipment
(e.g., gloves and boots) nor in terms of wastewater treatment techniques such as filtration and
sedimentation. The biggest risks identified during
field investigation were medical waste followed
by pesticide usage and risks implied by mosquitoes and flies. According to the field investigation, the presence of medical waste in the
wastewater stream can be considered as highly
hazardous and dangerous. Usually, these wastes
were handpicked and manually sorted by farmers, imposing even greater risks to farmer health.
Along with this, municipal solid waste and
weedicide usage were the major risk areas identified during FGD. Awareness about the current
environmental impacts, mitigation measures, and
existing hazards among users was very low,
followed by a lower amount of willingness for
treated wastewater irrigation and use. Most of the
respondents were found to apply minimal safety
measures. Also regarding the adverse effects of
different pesticides and weedicides the awareness
level was low, especially about which chemicals
are the most toxic or carcinogenic in nature.
There was a low awareness, in general, of the
cumulative effects of pesticide poisoning, which
often manifests itself in the gradual failure of the
immune system, making it less detectable by
health workers and epidemiologists (Satterthwaite 2003). Further study is still in progress to
assess the quantitative risk of event sites through
data collection and evaluation.
3.4 Field Inspections—Implications
of Wastewater Irrigation
The risks associated with wastewater use can be
due to microbiological and chemical contamination. The use of untreated wastewater in
agriculture has the risk of pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and
helminths, which are harmful to humans. These
microorganisms can enter the human body
through broken skin, direct ingestion, ingestion
following inadequate handwashing practices, and
inhalation. All excreted pathogens present in
wastewater can survive in soil, causing potential
risk to farmworkers. “Pathogens survive for a
lesser time on the crops, due to sunlight. However, it still can pose risk to crop handlers and
consumers” (FAO 1997).
Micropollutants are an emerging threat to the
safety of water bodies across the world. These
include diverse classes of chemicals, such as
pesticides, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, household chemicals, and surfactants
(Daughton and Thomas 1999). Some of these are
endocrine-disrupting compounds and natural
estrogens. The impact of these micropollutants
on human health and the environment is not yet
well understood (Cardenas Reyes et al. 2016).
Despite the presence of plant nutrients,
pathogens, organic pollutants, biodegradable
organics, and micropollutants in wastewater,
Fig. 6 Pumping wastewater directly to the field at
Govankoppa, Dharwad district; picture credit Ms. Susmita Banerjee
Sustainable and Safe Use of Wastewater …
49