The Health bulletin [serial] - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

December, 1951The Health Bulletintimes. During times of an emergencythis problem becomes increasingly importantsince the interruption of waterservices will render flush toilets nonoperativeand require the use of primitivemethods of excreta disposal. Also,the disruption of treatment facilitiesfor domestic sewage and industrialwastes may seriously impair the qualityof the raw water available to municipalitiesat points downstream from thedisaster. The health hazards associatedwith such problems are so importantthat supervision and sanitary inspectionby the health department personnelwill be absolutely necessary.The health department program inconnection with the above would consistof activities in the following areas:A. Cooperate in providing emergencysewage disposal facilities including pitprivies on vacant properties, can privies,excrement bags for large apartmenthouses and hotels, privies over manholes,pumping units furnishing waterto the plumbing system of apartmenthouses and hotels to remove sewagedeposits in flush toilets.B. Assistance in locating emergencyequipment for use at municipal sewagetreatment works.Garbage And Rubbish DisposalGarbage and rubbish disposal servicewill, undoubtedly, be one of the firstmunicipal services to be affected in anemergency. The urgency for resumptionof such service immediately will not begreat except at evacuation centers, hospitals,and mass feeding stations. Itwould appear that surveillance of thisservice would be the legitimate concernof health departments during an emergency.In this connection, there shouldbe investigated the establishment ofsanitary landfills for use during anemergency period. The State HealthDepartment through the Sanitary EngineeringDivision will assume the responsibilityfor instructing local healthdepartment personnel in methods ofemergency garbage storage and disposalin order that they may cooperatemore closely with the local service unitsconcerned.Insect And Rodent ControlThe health department should takethe lead in seeing that strict controlmeasures are applied in areas wherethe public health is endangered byconditions promoting the increase ofinsect and rodent vectors of disease.The areas in which control will be appliedare:1. Warehouses and stores where foodis stored and distributed.2. Areas in which bodies might beplaced for a period of time beforeburial.3. Areas designated as dumping orincineration areas for garbage or rubbish.4. Areas in which large numbers ofpit privies might be set up.5. Any area where rodent populationpresents a problem.6. Emergency hospitals, evacuationcenters, and rest areas.In the event of an open physical attack,insect and rodent control wouldnot constitute an immediate emergencyproblem, but extensive measure wouldbe necessary following the attack. Thedemolition of storage warehouses andother buildings would provide food andharborages for rodents. Disruption ofnormal garbage storage, collection, anddisposal facilities would cause increasedbreeding of both rodents and insects.Craters created by falling bombs would,in many instances, hold water and becomemosquito-breeding places. Allavailable resources, such as local healthdepartment personnel and pest controloperators and lay volunteer workersshould be organized, trained, and madeavailable to assist in the control of theinsects and rodents following attacksof this kind.An immediate emergency would b