LESSON 1
SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL AT FIXED INSTALLATION
Section I. INTRODUCTION
1-1.
GENERAL
a. Military units and installations generate a large variety and volume of waste.
In order to safeguard the health of the command and to provide an aesthetically
pleasing working environment, it is incumbent upon the military establishment to
dispose of all waste products in a sanitary and efficient manner. The day of the isolated
military outpost is long past. Nearly every military installation today is surrounded by a
civilian community of which it is actually a component part. The pattern of consumption
on the installation is largely the same as that of the civilian community, resulting in
similar problems of waste disposal. As the world shrinks in size and increased
productivity leads to an increase in waste and by-products, protection of the
environment becomes imperative--not only from a health standpoint, but also from
aesthetic considerations.
b. Proper sanitary waste disposal eliminates harborages for pests such as
insects and rodents. Besides reducing the nuisance and material destruction that such
pests cause, waste disposal controls the diseases transmitted by filth and pests. Such
diseases include:
(1) Plague. This disease is transmitted by the rat flea.
(2) Dysentery, typhoid fever, and cholera. Intestinal diseases usually are
transmitted by food and water that have been contaminated with feces or urine from an
infected human or animal.
c. The content of this lesson is oriented toward solid waste disposal in fixed
Army installations and to provide you with general principles of waste disposal. The
principles are applicable in all situations, where appropriate; however, specific
procedures peculiar to a combat or field environment are discussed in lesson 2.
1-2. RESPONSIBILITIES
To provide you with a better understanding and a bigger picture of the
coordination, cooperation, interaction, and limitations of some of the agencies
responsible for solid waste disposal, their responsibilities are listed below.
a. The Surgeon General. The responsibilities of The Surgeon General are
comprehensive in nature. They include such things as:
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