Jordan Times
Monday, October 30, 2006
WHO to launch 3rd
edition of guidelines on safe wastewater use
AMMAN (JT) — The World Health Organisation’s Centre for Environmental Health
Activities (CEHA) will launch the third edition of its “Guidelines for the Safe
Use of Wastewater, Excreta and Greywater” at a regional workshop opening in
Amman today.
The guidelines are of great significance to the Eastern Mediterranean region,
where most countries are facing severe water shortages and where wastewater is
increasingly being regarded an essential water source for use in agriculture,
both in a controlled and uncontrolled manner, according to a statement released
by the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO).
Although controlled use of wastewater yields many benefits such as food
production and increased food security, uncontrolled use of these substances may
be associated with significant negative human health impacts, the statement
added.
The WHO publishes the guidelines with the goal of maximising public health
protection and the beneficial use of wastewater and greywater.
The guidelines, which can be obtained from the WHO website (www.who.int), are
intended to serve as the basis for development of international and national
standards and regulation for managing the use of wastewater and greywater.
Issued in four volumes, the new guidelines are based on scientific consensus and
the best available and verifiable evidence and were developed through
consultative participatory and inclusive processes, the statement said. The
target audience includes policy makers, managers, scientists, educators,
researchers, engineers, public health professionals and those who are
responsible for developing standards and regulations in the areas of public
health, water resources, agriculture, food safety and wastewater management.
The current issue of the guidelines marks a departure from the presentation of
static standards and norms to presenting best practice guidance in risk
assessment and management for the use of wastewater. They present an integrated
preventative management framework for safety applied from the point of
wastewater generation to the consumption of foodstuff grown with the wastewater
and describe reasonable minimum requirements for good practice to protect the
health of people using wastewater and the health of those consuming the
products.
Thirty-five officials, experts and managers in the field of health, agriculture
and wastewater management from 17 EMRO countries, along with WHO experts, will
participate in the “Regional Workshop on Health Aspects of Wastewater Reuse in
Agriculture.”
Over four days, they will review the guidelines and develop modalities for
implementing them, starting with updating national standards and regulatory
framework and management practices for safe wastewater and greywater use.
CEHA has been promoting safe reuse of wastewater in agriculture since 1989 by
providing capacity building and technical assistance to member states to develop
their own regulations and management capacities for safe wastewater reuse.
In addition, the participants will review the outcome of the recently completed
WHO regional project on wastewater management and reuse implemented in 11
countries: Kuwait, Egypt, Sudan, Morocco, Tunisia, Yemen, Syria, the United Arab
Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
The project supported the development of management capacity for wastewater
reuse including the development of monitoring and surveillance systems and good
practice tools.
Urging countries of the region to review their existing regulatory and
management frameworks for safe use of wastewater and greywater in agriculture,
WHO said it will launch a regional initiative to assist in the application of
the new guidelines.