Team:ICT-Mumbai/Description
Identifying the problem
Ammonia formed due to hydrolysis of urine is a major cause of the stench that characterizes public toilets. Apart from putting off users, ammonia is also a health hazard.
Ammonia is irritating and corrosive. Exposure to high concentrations of ammonia in air causes immediate burning of the nose, throat and respiratory tract. This can cause bronchiolar and alveolar edema, and airway destruction resulting in respiratory distress or failure. Inhalation of lower concentrations can cause coughing, and nose and throat irritation. Ammonia’s odor provides adequate early warning of its presence, but ammonia also causes olfactory fatigue or adaptation, reducing awareness of one's prolonged exposure at low concentrations.
Apart from users, toilet janitors are exposed to ammonia for prolonged periods of time. In crowded localities, residents and shopkeepers in the vicinity of public toilets are also exposed to toxic ammonia fumes throughout the day.
Existing Solutions
Different solutions exist to tackle the problem of stinking toilets. The first involves using deodorants, which simply mask the odor. This is obviously not a solution as such, as the toxic fumes are merely disguised and wished away!
The second solution is to use an exhaust fan, which sucks away odors to the outside atmosphere. This also is not a solution; the ammonia is simply diluted into the atmosphere.
The third solution is using copious amounts of water to clean toilets. While this is the most obvious way to prevent formation of ammonia, it is not the most feasible due to scarcity or even unavailability of water, especially after a poor monsoon. A greater menace is that of unscrupulous persons peeing in public places!
The fourth solution is to construct waterless toilets. A version of waterless urinals employs a propriety liquid (usually oil) in the drain. The oil floats on urine, and odors from urine cannot rise from the oil layer. This is not a cheap solution, and also requires periodic flushing with lots of water.
A fifth solution is to use microbes (Bioblocks®) that degrade the urea in urine, thus preventing ammonia formation. This is by far the neatest solution, as ammonia does not form at all. However, the cost of replacing the microbes in the drainage system is a big impediment to its widespread use.
