Webinar Chapter 1

Peran dan tantangan teknik lingkungan di

era new normal
The environmental challenges under Indonesia’s
‘New Normal’

Achmad Chusnun Ni’am, S.Si., M.T., Ph.D

Institut Teknologi Adhi Tama Surabaya

11 Juni 2020
Outline

• Terminology
• Waste and wastewater challenges
• Life healthy challenges
• Recommendation
• Conclusion
Terminology - New

• baru dibuat atau sudah mulai ada baru-baru ini:

• berbeda dari yang ada sebelumnya:
• belum terbiasa atau berpengalaman:
• sebelumnya tidak digunakan atau dimiliki:
• baru-baru ini ditemukan atau diketahui:
Terminology - Normal
Terminology – New Normal
 After the COVID-19 Pandemic:
Returning to Normalcy or Returning to a New Normal?
 Vellingiri et al., 2020

SARS-CoV-2

• The typical symptoms that emerged due to SARS-CoV-2  dry

cough, sneezing, and difficulty in breathing, which eventually
leads to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
• The severity of the SARS not only depends upon the person's
age and immunity but also various other co-morbid conditions
such as cardiac issues, diabetes mellitus, hypertension,
Renu et al., 2020 tuberculosis, cancer, and venous thromboembolism
 Environmental engineering and Covid-19

Most frequent terms appeared in the title and abstract of the publications on Research dimensions related to the safety impact of the
COVID-19 based on the Scopus analyze search results (Haghani, et al., 2020). COVID-19 pandemic addressed by academic studies
(Haghani, et al., 2020).
Social sciences, environmental sciences, psychology and veterinary sciences is various discipline to understand and mitigate
the covid-19 (Decaro et al., 2020)
Transmission pathways of the COVID-19 and their intersections with various environment (Kumar, 2020).
 Waste and wastewater challenges
• The transmission behavior of SARS-CoV-2 also has important implications for waste and wastewater services (Ngiem et
al., 2020)
• A preliminary report from the WHO indicates that SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted via droplets and contaminated objects
during close unprotected contact between an infector and infected (Ngiem et al., 2020)

Lifespan of SARS-CoV-2 in the environment (Ngiem et al., 2020) Medical wastes generated during COVID-19 pandemic
in the environment one's (Saadat et al., 2020).
 Waste challenges

• In terms of waste management, this

widespread outbreak is particularly challenging
due to the dispersed nature of cases and
infected individuals.
• strict infection control and hygiene standards
are required when collecting waste materials
from affected households and quarantine
facilities.
• Medical waste management could be a big
issue
• Effectively, waste from infected households and
quarantine facilities would meet the definition
of clinical waste.

Current recommendations for municipal waste management during the

COVID-19 crisis (Modified from ACRPlus.org).
Wastewater

• Although the major transmission routes of SARS-CoV-2 are inhalation from person-to-person and
droplet transmission, currently available evidence indicates that the viral RNA is present in
wastewater, suggesting the need to better understand wastewater as potential sources of
epidemiological data and human health risks.
• There has been growing evidence of gastrointestinal symptoms caused by SARS-CoV-2 infections and
the presence of viral RNA not only in feces of COVID-19 patients but in wastewater
• During the SARS outbreak in 2004 in China, SARS-CoV RNA was detected in 100% of untreated
and 30% of disinfected wastewater samples collected from a hospital in Beijing (Wang et al.,
2005)
• viral SARS-CoV-2 RNA could be detected in the feces of 81.8% cases even with a negative throat
swab result (Ling et al., 2020)
• SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in the feces of asymptomatic individuals as well (Tang et al., 2020)
 Wastewater
• Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) serves as an important tool to trace
the circulation of viruses in a community, providing opportunities to estimate
their prevalence, genetic diversity, and geographic distribution (O’brien, 2020)
• WBE is a reliable surveillance model for identifying global hotspots of COVID-
19 (Kitajima, 2020).

Kitajima 2020 Daughton, 2020

• First confirmed detection of SARS-CoV-2 in untreated wastewater
in Australia (Ahmed et al, 2020).
• SARS-CoV-2 RNA was concentrated from wastewater in a
catchment and viral RNA copies were enumerated using reverse
transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR)
resulting in two positive detections within a six day period from the
same WWTP
• The estimated viral RNA copy numbers observed in the wastewater
were then used to estimate the number of infected individuals in
the catchment via Monte Carlo simulation.
• One of the biggest challenges will be to establish quantitative
predictions from the viral RNA concentrations measured in the
sewage to the actual numbers of cases in the community

Infection prevalence estimation

 Wastewater

• Application of nanofiber filters as a

wastewater pretreatment routine
and upgradation of existing
wastewater evaluation and
treatment systems to serve as a
beneficial surveillance tool
(Venugopal, 2020)
• Home-made treatments such as
boiling and large-scale processes 
ultrafiltration, inactivation by
ultraviolet irradiation and
chlorination are promising tactics
that can be used to upgrade the
treatment, especially in pandemic
hotspots (Venugopal, 2020)

(Venugopal, 2020)
Wastewater
• One of the major challenges in SARS-CoV-2 detection/quantification
in wastewater samples is the lack of an optimized and standardized
protocol.
• Available data are also limited for conducting a quantitative microbial
risk assessment (QMRA) for SARS-CoV-2 exposure pathways (Kitajima
et al., 2020).
• Modeling-based approaches have a potential role to play in reducing
the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, (Kitajima et al., 2020)
 Before Pandemic During Pandemic Before Pandemic During Pandemic

(Saadat et al., 2020)

During Pandemic New Normal
• Levels of air pollution in New York have dropped at almost
50%
• The amount of good quality air was around 11.4% compared
with the same time last year in more than 330 cities all over
China.
• In Europe, nitrogen dioxide (NO2)emission dropped over
northern Italy, Spain and UK,as shown in satellite image
Life healthy challenges
• One of the most common protections against virus infections is quarantine.
• However, social isolation often causes psychological and mental disorders
including acute stress disorder, exhaustion, detachment from others, irritability,
insomnia, poor concentration indecisiveness, fear, and anxiety.
• The immobilization due to hospitalization and bed rest and the physical inactivity
due to sustained quarantine and social distancing can downregulate the ability
of organs systems to resist to viral infection and increase the risk of damage to
the immune, respiratory, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal systems and brain

Woods, 2020
Mask reduce covid transmission

• Coronaviruses are minute in size (0.065–0.125 nm in

diameter) (Shereen et al., 2020).
Feng et al., 2020 • The effectiveness of homemade or non-certified masks is
very low (Romero,2020)
• Some organizations indicate that these improvised masks
should be the last solution and for low-risk cases, but that
they can even increase the risk of infection due to humidity,
liquid diffusion and virus retention (European Centre for
Disease Prevention and Control, 2020).
• The washing machine and dryer should be used for
decontamination for homemade masks
Fighting COVID-19 with Proper Nutrition as the new normal adaptation

• Nutrition is an important factor for human health, including maintaining a strong

immune system
• Vitamin C is a commonly used antioxidant to scavenge ROS and to protect cells from
oxidative stress. Effects of vitamin C in treatment of COVID-19 in several countries such
as NCT04264533, NCT04357782 and NCT04335084
• Vitamin D supplementation is highly recommended to reduce the risk of COVID-19
• Vitamin A supplementation also enhances immune response after vaccination for
measles and influenza
• Vitamin B6 deficiency is known to weaken host immune response
• Vitamin E supplementation is particularly effective in improving age-related immunity
• Zinc supplementation has high potential for prevention of COVID-19
• Selenium status is correlated with the cure rate and death rate of COVID-19 patients
 Starting an exercise program during a pandemic and
new normal

• Recommendations for children and youth aged five to 17 years are the
accumulation of at least 60 minutes of moderate - to vigorous-intensity daily
physical activity (WHO, 2011).
• A beginning exercise program should start at low intensities for short durations
and progress slowly to more intense physical activity or exercise periods of
longer durations (Woods, 2020)
• Adjust exercise programming slowly and progressively to obtain new fitness
goals to reduce the likelihood of any negative impact on the immune system
(Woods, 2020)
• Exercise program  walking, stair climbing, lifting and carrying groceries, chair
squats, pushups, sit-ups, rope jumping, yoga, Pilates, and Tai Chi
• When body aches, fatigue, fever or symptoms such as a stomachache or a
hacking cough are present, bed rest is recommended until symptoms subside.
Conclusion
• Once the countermeasures of physical distancing are uplifted and people return to their routine lifestyle,
there is a high probability of the reemergence of this virus.
• The potential role of wastewater in SARS-CoV-2 transmission is largely limited by knowledge gaps in its
occurrence, persistence, and removal in wastewater
• (Wastewater- Based Epidemiology - WBE) holds the potential as a key tool in containing and mitigating
Covid-19 outbreaks. The virus concentration method is another essential factor that requires attention for
improving the sensitivity of detection of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater.
• The epidemiological changes occurring in COVID-19 infection should be monitored carefully taking into
account potential transmission routes and subclinical infections, as well as the adaptation, evolution,
possible intermediate animals and reservoir, and spread of the virus among humans.
• Hand washing, maintaining physical distancing, and wearing a mask is strongly encouraged to maximize the
fight against the COVID-19 airborne transmission.
• Transmission depends on respiratory droplet size, environmental condition, and immunity.
• Improvised homemade or non-certified masks are one of an alternative, although it seems better than using
nothing at all.
Thank you