The emergency Sanitation Operation System (eSOS) is a solar powered toilet for use in area experiencing the aftermath of a disaster.
Poor sanitation can often kill as many people as the disaster itself and it becomes a particularly pressing issue when people are concentrated into temporary camps during the recovery process. Temporary latrine facilities can also be responsible for pathogens spreading through flooding or a high groundwater table.
Developed by UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education in collaboration with other groups and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation project, SaniUP, the eSOS system is a lightweight unit that is easy to deploy in a disaster zone. Disassembled, the entire system can fit on a fit onto a 120 x 80 cm pallet.
eSOS features remote-sensing monitoring, a battery, GSM/GPS sensor/card, occupancy sensors, urine/faeces accumulation sensor, an S.O.S. activation button, electric locking and a communication system that will send out alerts when the toilet requires maintenance such as waste tank emptying or the water tank requires filling.
All this “whizz”-bang gadgetry is powered by a solar panel and once the battery is fully charged, the power system can sustain up to 7 days use.
eSOS is also fitted with a UV germicidal light to disinfect the toilet interior surfaces. The floor, seat and toilet bowl surfaces are coated with non-stick hydrophobic nano coating to help keep the toilet clean.
The prototype eSOS toilet will be further tested in a refugee camp in the Philippines next month and subsequent manufacturing will be based on the results and feedback obtained from the field testing.
Based in the Netherlands, the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education is the largest international graduate water education facility in the world. It envisions a world where water is managed in a sustainable manner and where all people can reap the benefits of basic services.
More than 2.5 billion people, a third of the world’s population, do not have access to a clean and safe toilet.
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