Blair toilet A dry sanitation option
Sanitation includes the collection and removal, or disposal, of human excreta (faeces and urine) to promote healthy living conditions. The purpose of any sanitation system is to contain human excreta and prevent the spread of sanitation-related diseases. Dry sanitation is the on-site disposal of human excreta without the use of water as a carrier. The Blair toilet is a type of ventilated improved pit toilet (VIP) and was developed in Zimbabwe at the Blair Research Institute. This toilet has a vent, rather like a chimney, that connects the pit with the outside air. The vent pipe is essential as it reduces flies and odours from the toilet and also prevents the transmission of sanitation-related illnesses and diseases. It is usually built in a spiral shape (round or square) without a door. The Blair toilet can be built with almost any kind of construction material and should be constructed at least 50 m away from the nearest well, borehole or spring to prevent contamination of the groundwater.
The Sanitation Technology Demonstration Centre Funded jointly by the Water Research Commission (WRC) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Located on the CSIR Built Environment Innovation Site at the CSIR, Pretoria. www.csir.co.za/built_environment/santechcentre
Blair toilet In a Blair toilet, human excreta are collected in a pit that has a chimney-like vent pipe covered by a fly screen at the top. Air circulates down the pedestal (through the toilet seat or squathole) into the pit and up through the vent pipe. This reduces odours and flies in the top structure of the toilet. To ensure air circulation, no cover should be placed over the toilet seat or the squat-hole. The Blair toilet is most applicable in rural settings where water is scarce. The Blair toilet has been designed to ensure that the whole structure can be built at the lowest possible cost but also to last between 12 and 15 years for an average family of four people.
Sketch of the components of a Blair toilet (Morgan, 2000)
A Blair toilet in Malawi (www.heeedmalawi.org/health) More information regarding Blair toilets can be obtained from the following: Afr Health. (1992). Blair Latrine: Low-cost water supplies and their contribution to health. Nov; 15(1): 10-1. (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed)
Morgan, P. (2000). Rural Water Supplies and Sanitation: A text from Zimbabwe's Blair Research Laboratory. London: Macmillan Education. http://www.ssrsi.org/Onsite/blair. htm
The technologies and products displayed at the Sanitation Technology Demonstration Centre are not endorsed by the CSIR in any way whatsoever. Contact details:
Sketch of a urine diversion toilet (www.training.gpa.unep.org) Santechcentre@csir.co.za Tel: 012 841 2566 Fax: 012 841 3400