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Evaluating the current state of the wastewater system in Kabul city and its effects on the environment and health by using the Battelle method

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Abstract

The lack of infrastructure for collecting, managing, and disposing of wastewater in Kabul is currently the most serious environmental concern. Additionally, the Battelle approach was used to examine the environmental effects of Kabul City’s lack of a sewage collection network. Through a questionnaire, information was collected from 10 reputable public and private hospitals about patients suffering from diseases caused by polluted water, and data were collected from 460 points, such as wells, tanks, and faucets, in different seasons between 2022 and 2023 to identify the biological and physical characteristics of water consumed by residents. The total population of Kabul Province is 5,304,667 people; of these numbers, 85% live in urban areas, and 15% live in rural areas. While the majority of countries are at the peak of civilization, only 82% of Kabul’s population uses vault toilets or dry toilets, 14.75% uses septic tanks or access pour flush toilets, and 3.25% uses the sewerage system. Validation of this method was checked by the Environmental Impact Units (EIUs) of the current situation of the sewer system in Kabul city. The results of these judgments revealed that these issues had − 23.82% impacts on ecology, − 33.53% impacts on environmental pollution, − 21.72% impacts on esthetics, and − 21.72% impacts on human interest. The study also exposed that 75% of Antoni Hospital patients suffer from waterborne illnesses.

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Funding

This study was not funded.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Environment, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Qods St, House No. 15, Tehran, 1417853111, Iran

    H. Jahish

  2. Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Environment, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    N. Mehrdadi & G. R. N. Bedhendi

Authors
  1. H. Jahish
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  2. N. Mehrdadi
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  3. G. R. N. Bedhendi
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Contributions

Hasibullah Jahish contributed to Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Writing—original draft, Writing—review and editing, and Visualization. Nasir Mehrdadi contributed to Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing—original draft, Writing – review editing. Gholamreza Nabi Bedhendi contributed to review and editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to H. Jahish.

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Conflict of interests

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethics approval

This study did not require local ethics committee approval.

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All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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All authors read and approved the final manuscript for publication.

Additional information

Editorial responsibility: Samareh Mirkia.

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Jahish, H., Mehrdadi, N. & Bedhendi, G.R.N. Evaluating the current state of the wastewater system in Kabul city and its effects on the environment and health by using the Battelle method. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 21, 4739–4750 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-023-05333-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-023-05333-6

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