The development and practical installation of the Oxfam patented sanitation unit will be described. The work began at the time of the Bangladesh war, when the problem of dealing with human excreta in the refugee camps in Bengal, often containing 100000 people, stimulated the invention and use of a primitive septic tank system made from plastic sheeting. From this the current sanitation unit was developed, which provides sanitation facilities for 500 people for approximately £2500, using no power source and with a capability of greatly reducing cholera, parasites and some other intestinal diseases. We believe the unit is a positive advance in public health for poor urban slum communities and might be used in rural conditions also.
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