This document discusses sanitation standards and conditions at Ma-a City Jail in the Philippines. It notes that the jail is overcrowded, housing 986 inmates beyond its 350 person capacity. This overcrowding has led to sanitation problems like poor quality septic tanks and open sewage canals. The document also reviews environmental issues caused by improper waste disposal at prisons and the importance of establishing sanitation standards to protect inmate and staff health.
This document discusses sanitation standards and conditions at Ma-a City Jail in the Philippines. It notes that the jail is overcrowded, housing 986 inmates beyond its 350 person capacity. This overcrowding has led to sanitation problems like poor quality septic tanks and open sewage canals. The document also reviews environmental issues caused by improper waste disposal at prisons and the importance of establishing sanitation standards to protect inmate and staff health.
This document discusses sanitation standards and conditions at Ma-a City Jail in the Philippines. It notes that the jail is overcrowded, housing 986 inmates beyond its 350 person capacity. This overcrowding has led to sanitation problems like poor quality septic tanks and open sewage canals. The document also reviews environmental issues caused by improper waste disposal at prisons and the importance of establishing sanitation standards to protect inmate and staff health.
A sanitary standard aims to establish standards for the protection of the health and safety of the inmates and the personnel of a certain penal institutions. Requiring a certain facility to follow the standards, this research focus on the standards on sanitary system of a penal institution. As researchers try to asses the Ma-a city jail, they must have some standards to base the observation and test they gather upon the period of study. Prison Conditions in the Philippines Prison conditions in the Philippines were undeveloped and sometimes cruel. Provincial jails and prisons were overcrowded, lacked basic infrastructure, and provided prisoners with an inadequate diet. Jails managed by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in metropolitan Manila usually operated at about 240 percent of designed capacityLack of potable water and poor ventilation continued to cause health problems in jails (DavaoToday, 2007). Some prison condition in the country is not that good because of overcrowding, sub-standard facilities and lack of basic needs of a prisoner. From those who can freely visit prisons like the International Committee of Red Cross (2007) stated that there were about 35,000 inmates who fought for space in jails maintained by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in 2001. The number increased to 69,500 as of October 2007. Overcrowding resulted in spread of diseases such as tuberculosis and sanitary problems. The primary cause of sanitary problem in the Philippines is the excess of the estimated population of a jail. The design of sanitary system failed to serve its purpose. Ma-a City Jail Present Condition Researchers are able to interact with the personnel of the jail. One of the personnel shares the situation of the jail. He was able to give some important information to the researchers and even give help the researchers on the topic. Ma-a city jail only have a limit of 350 inmates but at the present the jail has 986 inmates. They have 7 dormitories, cell depends on the dormitory, the RDC has the highest number of cells. The total of CR is 38 with 10 septic tanks . The sewage canal is an open type with a dimension of .3m x .3m going to a larger canal along the public road. The septic tank is a two chambered type. It has a dimension of 3m x 4m. Our problem with this septic tanks is that the depth is unknown due to the design of the septic is gone. But the standard of the septic tank is that it should not be less than 1.2m. Among the 10 septic we only have 1 which is having a problem during a heavy rainfall. The smell is disturbing and spread along the dormitory, disturbing the prisoners and the personnel. Prisoners wakeup call is 5:30 in the morning, the prisoners have two and a half hour to take a bath, and they perform this every day. The are allowed pitch 1 regular pale (1 gal) of water to control chaos along the line. Some prisoners are hired by the administration to work some of the facilities construction some after work take a bath which is valid, as long as it dont disturb the other prisoners. Friday is the scheduled day for washing their clothes. They have the whole day allotted for them to wash their clothes. Even in regular day, the inmates generate waste. The drainage of the jail is only designed for the two original building of the compound. We just make a connection for the drainage if we are to construct new building. JO1 Lito G. Sijob said. Waste Generated by Inmates - There are two ways for the waste of the prisoner. For the urine and feces, it will go to the septic tank. And other is in the sewage like the waste when cooking, washing clothes, taking a bath and others. According to International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) that one individual produces an average of 1-2 liters of waste a day from urine and feces. The calculated amount of excreta produced by an individual is estimated to be 40 to 90 liters per year (.04m 3 to .09m 3 /person/year). A table below shows the data of the jail: population, dormitory, cell, CR and septic tanks. DORMITORY POPULATION C.R CELLS SEPTIC TANK R.D.C 275 inmates 13 12 3 Medium cells 75 inmates 3 3 0* Maximum cells A 243 inmates 4 4 2 Maximum cells B 214 inmates 4 4 2 Minor Cells 58 inmates 6 6 1 Ultra maximum cells 83 inmates 4 4 1 Half way house 39 inmates 4 4 1 total 986 inmates 38 37 10
Table 2.1 Profile of Ma-a City Jail * The waste generated from the occupants of medium cells goes to the septic tanks used to produce gas in the biogas. Biogas is excluded in the scope of limitation. Researchers distributed questionnaire to obtain some information which is needed for the completion of the study. Included in the questionnaire are the wastewater generated each day by the prisoners during different activities: washing clothes, taking bath, cooking and washing clothes. Researchers are able to collect those data and base from the data collected, researchers will able to compute the necessary things to produce a sanitary report. The researchers collect the corresponding answers of the 10% respondents of the total population of the jail. Others in the question mean the other activities by the inmates which generate wastewater. Prisoners urinate used 1 liter of water and upon excrete, the estimated use of water to flush the waste is 4 liters. Questions are: 1. How many times you wash your clothes in a week? 2. How many pail of water is used when washing the cloths? 3. How many times you take a bath in a week? 4. How many times you take a bath in a day? 5. How many pail of water is used when taking a bath? 6. Estimated usage of water in: washing the plates, cooking and others? The table shown is the respondents of Ma-a city jail as researchers tally the result of the survey: 1 2 3 4 5 7* - (41) 13* - (9) 12* - (1) 14* - (49) legend: - numbers corresponds to the inmates answers - answers of the inmates to the questions 65 1 Other 100 5 55 20 81 19 25 2 6 4 3 72 23 5 35 Table 2.2 tally of answer from the survey Weather condition one that could affect the sanitary problem of the jail is the weather. But from the data that the researchers gather. During the season of El Nio, the PAGASA collected abnormal precipitation data. Here is an article from Sun Star Davao (Friday, March 19, 2010): The temperature in Davao Region is expected to reach 36 degrees Celsius in the following weeks, the weather station in Davao City warned. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) Davao Region advised the public not to stay longer under the heat of the sun to avoid being sick. PAGASA Regional Officer Gerry Pedrico said they are expecting the temperature in Davao City and other areas in the region to rise from 35 degrees Celsius to 36 degrees in the following weeks. "Possible kaayo na mutaas pa ni kay padulong ta sa dry season (It's very possible that the temperature will rise because we are approaching the dry season)," Pedrico said. Pedrico, however, said Davao City is not included among the "most vulnerable areas" to El Nio in Southern Mindanao. Davao Region PAGASA noted that the region has recorded a 109.0 mm of rainfall in September last year, when the average rainfall in this period is 184.3mm. In October we only recorded 59.3mm of rain when the normal level would be 178.3mm. In November we had 137.1mm of rain when the normal is 135.3. In December we had 47.0mm when normally it should be 103.5. In January this year, we recorded 157.5mm of rain when normal is 124.8mm. By February we recorded 16.0mm of rain when the normal is 99.8mm. As of March, we are still collecting data," Pederico said. The table below is the monthly average of rainfall ranging from January to December of 2009 acquired from PAGASA. MONTH JAN. FEB. MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEP OCT NOV. DEC. AVERAGE RAINFALL 137.1mm 47mm 232.8mm 175.1mm 92.6mm 158.9mm 185.2mm 193.9mm 240.3mm 175.6mm 109mm 59.3mm
Table 2.3 Average rainfall as of 2009 Environmental Issues - Environmental issue is a big concern, improper disposal of waste materials may lead to cause diseases and sanitary problem in the facility. Many studies have cited increased costs and problems with water and wastewater treatment. One Alabama prison, Donaldson, was alleged to have committed 1,060 violations of the Clean Water Act by discharging sewage into rivers between 1999-2004. A 2005 lawsuit cited similar violations at seven other prisons in the state (Jafari, 2006). Municipal waste contributes to environmental problems including habitat destruction, surface and groundwater pollution, and other forms of air, soil, and water contamination. Incineration creates toxic substances, while landfills emit methane (which contributes to global warming) and other gases (Boyd, 2008) Sanitary Standards - Sanitation as used in this study would mean the hygienic measures of isolating the hazards of wastes from human contact to promote health. Wastes generated by human beings could be excreta, urine, wastewater, solid wastes, industrial wastes, and agricultural wastes. These wastes may contain hazards, such as microbial pathogens and hazardous chemicals, which will be detrimental to human health if left uncontrolled (Teresi, 2002). Systems that isolate hazards from human contact could be the application of engineering solutions that deal with the processes of collection, transport, treatment, reuse and recycling of wastewater; simple technology (e.g. pit latrines); or even simple hand washing practices. Sanitation and wastewater is not only the concern of modern man. Ancient civilizations, such as the Roman Empire, were very particular with these systems. Aqueducts had been built to transport water from the mountains to the city to meet their water supply demand. To dispose wastewater, sewer lines and drainage were constructed. Sanitary sewage from buildings and neutralized or pre-treated industrial wastewater shall be discharged directly into the nearest street sanitary sewer main of existing municipal or city sanitary sewerage system in accordance with the criteria set by the Code on Sanitation and the National Pollution Control Commission. All buildings located in areas where there is no available sanitary sewerage system shall dispose their sewage to "Imhoff" or septic tank and subsurface absorption field. Sanitary and industrial plumbing installations inside buildings and premises shall conform to the provisions of the National Plumbing Code. Sewage is water-carried wastes, in either solution or suspension, that is intended flow away from a community. Also known as wastewater flows, sewage is the used water supply of the community. It is more than 99.9% pure water and is characterized by its volume or rate of flow, its physical condition, its chemical constituents, and the bacteriological organisms that it contains. Depending on their origin, wastewater can be classed as sanitary, commercial, industrial, agricultural or surface runoff. The spent water from residences and institutions, carrying body wastes, washing water, food preparation wastes, laundry wastes, and other waste products of normal living, are classed as domestic or sanitary sewage. Their flows and strengths are usually more varied, intense, and concentrated than those of sanitary sewage. Surface runoff, also known as storm flow or overland flow, is that portion of precipitation that runs rapidly over the ground surface to a defined channel. Wastewater from all of these sources may carry pathogenic organisms that can transmit disease to humans and other animals; contain organic matter that can cause odor and nuisance problems; hold nutrients that may cause eutrophication of receiving water bodies; and can lead to ecotoxicology. Proper collection and safe, nuisance-free disposal of the liquid wastes of a community are legally recognized as a necessity in an urbanized, industrialized society.
Septic tanks - The septic tank reduce the velocity of wastewater and permit the settling of materials heavier than the liquid. Concurrently, scum, grease and other materials lighter than the water float to the top. A vertical section of a properly operating tank would show it divided into three distinct layers; scum at the top, a middle zone of generally clear water relatively free of solids called the clear space, and a bottom layer of sludge. Septic tanks are designed to handle all the normal daily flow a household or business produces and should have sufficient capacity for a minimum detention of at least 2-3 times then daily wastewater flow. For this reason, design should be based upon the maximum capacity of a home rather than its number of inhabitants at any particular time. Minimum capacities for septic tanks are shown in figure 2.1.
Figure 2.1 two chambered septic tank The design should allow for the inclusion of laundry and garbage grinder wastes. It is desirable to install larger tanks whenever possible. Tanks larger than the minimum have the advantage of more solids separation into the scum and sludge layers, and more solids storage. The larger capacity provides less carryover of solids, resulting in prolonged life of the soil absorption unit. Larger tanks also require less frequent cleaning and allow for future expansion of the home, which provides a positive cost-benefit return. Design flow capacity does not allow for roof drainage, other surface water, footing drainage, sump pump, or any other subsurface drainage, so these must be excluded from the system. Box-like concrete septic tanks are the most common. Properly reinforced and mixed, concrete forms a pre-cast tank that is strong, durable, stable, and modest in cost. The metal reinforcement used in the sidewalls must be positioned in the form so that the metal is always covered by at least an inch of concrete. If the rebar or wire mesh is exposed, not only is the concrete strength compromised, but the metal deterioration (as discussed previously) further weakens the tank. Any exposed reinforcement is a valid reason to reject that the tank. Concrete septic tanks are very heavy, requiring special trucks for transport and placement. If struck or dropped, the concrete may crack. A cracked tank will leak and must be rejected. The tank forms should be filled with a single pour. If the form is partially filled and the concrete hardens before the rest of the fill, a cold joint is created. Cold joints are prone to seeping or leaking and are not acceptable in septic tanks. It is a good idea to fill a tank with water and check for leaks before placement in the ground. A two-piece septic tank with a horizontal joint around the middle (also called a clam shell tank) is designed as two boxes that fit together, rim to rim. One box forms the bottom half and the other box (with the inlet and outlet in opposite ends and the hatch or hatches in the top) is the top half. The bottom half is placed in the excavation, a rubber or asphalt sealer is fitted completely around the rim before the top half is lowered into place on the sealer. This design divides the weight between the two halves, making it easier to handle and position. However, the potential for leakage is great along the seam where the two halves meet. This tank can only be checked for leakage after it has been placed. Should leaks be detected, it is necessary to pump out the water and reseal before testing again. Leakage has been a real disadvantage of the two-piece design, and its use has fallen out of favor (Corey, R.B., and E.J. Tyler, 1978). Septic tanks shall be generally rectangular in shape built of concrete or other materials. Brick or concrete blocks may be used where practical. The walls of the septic tank shall be plastered inside, be water tight and free from leaks. Septic tank of any other type or materials shall need the approval of the health authority before being installed. The septic tank capacity shall be determined from the estimated unit flow per table attached "Quantities of Sewage Flow" (table is shown at the last page of the chapter) based on adequate detention time. For residences, hotels, motels, boarding houses, apartment houses, and rooming houses, the number of persons to be served shall be computed on the basis of the number of rooms with each bedroom occupied by 2 persons or on the basis of the actual number of persons served by the tanks whichever is greater (Magtibay, 2006).
The following are the septic tank specification according to Muskegon County Health Department Environmental Health Division (Amended in 2005). A rectangular tank should be 2 times longer than its width A. Minimum of 4 horizontal feet shall be provided between inlet and outlet. Install a 4-inch concrete floor throughout which supports side walls. All concrete block walls must be constructed with the use of mortar. Inside walls must be sealed with brushed mortar or a block sealing tar compound or equivalent. The sections of a precast concrete tank shall be sealed with a watertight compound at time of installation. All septic tanks must be equipped with an outlet device consisting of a sanitary tee or vented ell or a precast baffle. Inlets and outlets to be properly sealed 360 degrees around pipe. The outlet device must extend downward to approximately 40% of the liquid depth. The tank shall be provided with a minimum liquid depth of 30 inches; 48 inches is preferred. An air space equivalent to 12-15% of the liquid depth shall be provided. Provide reinforced prefabricated covers or reinforced . It is necessary that the researchers should follow the standards they defined upon the assessment of Ma-a City Jail. In sanitary the major factor that may cause problem in the jails sanitary is the over population. Another is the existing design of the drainage.. The septic tank which is one of the important factors upon designing a successful sanitary design should follow the factors that are above-mentioned. There are many others factor that the researchers find it useful upon the assessment. And these factors are based on the current situation inside the jail. Through gathering of primary sources which the questionnaire and interactions with some inmates and personnel. The team of researchers is able to define the factor and standards they are basing the assessment of the said establishment.
QUANTITIES OF SEWAGE FLOW Type of Establishment Gals./Day/Person Small dwellings and cottages 50 Large dwellings with numerous fixtures 75100 Multiple family residence 50 Rooming houses 40 Boarding houses 50 Hotels and motels 50 Restaurant s (toilet and kitchen wastes per person) 710 Restaurants (kitchen wastes per meal served) 1-2/2-3 Kitchen wastes and hotels, camps, boarding houses, etc, serving 3 meals/day 7-10 Tourist camps or trailer parks 35-50 Resort camps (night and day) with limited plumbing 50 Luxury camps 75-100 Work or construction camps (semi-permanent) 50 Day school without cafeterias, gymnasiums or showers* 8 Day school with cafeterias but no gym or showers* (Quantity estimated from no. of meals served or 80% of enrolment)
12 Day school with cafeterias, gym and showers (Quantity estimated from maximum no. expected to use gyms and showers in one day)
20 Boarding schools 75-100 Day workers at schools and offices 15 Hospitals* (Gallons per bed) 150-250 Public institutions other than hospitals 75-125 Factories (Gal./person/shift, exclusive of industrial wastes) 15-35 Public picnic parks (toilet wastes only) 5 Picnic parks, with bath house, showers and flush toilets 10 Swimming pools and bathing places* 10 Luxury residences and estates 100-150 Country clubs per resident members* 25-50 Tablel 2.4 Quantities of sewage flow *Subsurface drain fields not recommended for secondary treatment (Biosphere Environmental and Healthy System Series)
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