Document Detail


Wastewater management through the ages: a history of mankind.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20817263     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Although much has been written about the history of water supply systems, there is a lack of corresponding information on wastewater management. This is surprising since the lack of sanitation affects human development to the same or even greater extent as the lack of clean water. While there may be an added stigma to discussing waste treatment, sanitation is widely perceived as meriting a significant claim on financial and political resources as well on the evolution of mankind. A literature review is presented on the evolution of wastewater management through the ages and its concurrent impact on human health and environment. Hopefully this information will improve the awareness of the past with a view to impacting future policies and technical developments. The review highlights the connection of environmental contamination with the ability to measure it, as well as the ways pollution control has been changed by advances in scientific knowledge. Attention is also drawn to the effects of political and societal events on wastewater management. A sanitation timeline has been constructed pointing out significant developments in the treatment of wastewater and improvements in analytical environmental chemistry. This review has been written in the belief that historical research showing the collective experience and "philosophy of sanitation" can provide inspiration to face future challenges.
Authors:
Giusy Lofrano; Jeanette Brown
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Historical Article; Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  The Science of the total environment     Volume:  408     ISSN:  1879-1026     ISO Abbreviation:  Sci. Total Environ.     Publication Date:  2010 Oct 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-09-22     Completed Date:  2010-10-29     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0330500     Medline TA:  Sci Total Environ     Country:  Netherlands    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  5254-64     Citation Subset:  IM    
Copyright Information:
Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Affiliation:
University of Salerno, Department of Civil Engineering, via Ponte don Melillo, 1-84084 Fisciano (SA), Italy. glofrano@unisa.it
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Civilization / history
Drainage, Sanitary / history
Greek World / history
History, 15th Century
History, 16th Century
History, 17th Century
History, 18th Century
History, 19th Century
History, 20th Century
History, Ancient
History, Medieval
Humans
Roman World / history
Waste Disposal, Fluid / history*,  methods
Waste Management / history*,  methods

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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