Date: 2024-11-22 Page is: DBtxt003.php L0700-PE-PL-Sanitation
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PEOPLE / QUALITY OF LIFE
SANITATION Important for Quality of Life because of impact on health and wellmess |
| A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT | GO TOP |
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The London sewer system
Sanitation is a polite way of talking about keeping human waste (sewage) out of the water that is used for drinking and all sorts of domestic and industrial purposes. Keeping water safe for all these uses has been a very big factor in improving health and enabling people to live longer. Time and time again, throughout history, big cities would suffer huge epidemics with people dying from a variety of 'plagues'. Eventually it was discovered that many of these plagues were caused by polluted water. The Thames river was the main source of drinking water for London until the 19th century and it was also the main sewer for all the waste of the city. When it was realized that this polluted water was one of the main reasons that Londoners were suffering from cholera, a massive storm water sewer system was puit in place to stop all the detritus from the city getting washed into the Thames every time it rained (which in England was most every day!). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_sewerage_system | Open external link | |
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The New York Sanitation Department
The New York Sanitation Department is responsible for solid waste, not sewage. Nevertheless the removal of solid waste is important for environmental health. When solid waste accumulates and starts to rot, it attracts all sorts of vermin that also serve as carriers of disease. Rats and mice are problems in most cities, and the problem is aggravated when solid waste accumulates. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_Department_of_Sanitation | Open external link |