Disaster Waste Management Challenges in Nepal: Health Impacts and the Need for Safe Practices

Abstract

Developing countries are extremely vulnerable to natural disasters, their aftermath, and the impact on peoples’ health and wellbeing, specifically as a result of lacking resources to mitigate postdisaster risks. One of the significant causes that increases the health and safety threats after disasters is mishandling the hazardous wastes. Although most developed countries have formulated health and safety protocols to deal with such waste, these practices are usually incompatible and rarely implemented in developing countries. In this research, a case study of the 2015 Nepal earthquake is analyzed to identify the primary causes of health and safety issues affecting the wellbeing of those involved during postdisaster activities. The study aims to identify and explicitly document the health and safety issues by surveying 103 officials and community stakeholders in Nepal, including workers, volunteers, and professionals working in various governmental and nongovernmental organizations. The study highlights the philanthropic participation of Nepalese communities during disaster waste management (DWM) activities and consequences to the lack of preparedness and protective action trainings. The results of the statistical analysis show that there is an adverse increase in health issues specifically for those (1) involved in DWM; (2) exposed to hazardous waste; (3) lacking health and safety guidance and training; and (4) deficient in construction and engineering knowledge. Improper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and lack of safety training have been found to be a major cause leading to health issues, where 40% of the respondents suffered from at least one health problem when involved in DWM activities. This research demonstrates the need for disaster training particularly for sustainable DWM to increase the public health resilience in future postdisaster recovery sites, sustainability awareness, and identify a preferred pedagogy to train underprivileged communities in developing countries.