How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It - James Wesley Rawles [60]
Human Waste
Human waste is much more of a problem. We are no longer accustomed to dealing with our own waste. The average person produces two to three pints of urine and one pound of feces per day. Multiply that by the number of people in your group for a day, a week, or longer and you begin to see the problem. If the sewer system is working you can still use your toilet by pouring water directly into the bowl to flush the waste. Otherwise, a five-gallon bucket with a toilet seat can be used as a porta-potty. Layering lime, wood ash, and good ol’ dirt can reduce the odor. Buckets will have to be cleaned daily and set up in an area away from any possible contamination sites so that the contents can be used for composting, keeping the compost covered to deter flies, etc. You should not use this compost in food gardening.
A trench toilet is also an option. Dig a trench two feet wide and a minimum of one foot deep and four feet long or more. After use, cover with the dirt from the hole, filling in from one end as you go. Bad bacteria can travel three hundred feet from the original site. Pay attention to drainage, and make sure the manure is covered with lime, ashes, or dirt. The area could attract rodents, dogs, and, worse, flies. The most important things to remember are reducing the fly/rodent problem and washing your hands thoroughly when you’ve finished. Stock up on hand sanitizer as well as soap. Do not attempt to use the trench method for manure that will be used for vegetable or grain growing.
For those of you planning on hunkering down in place if the grid were to go down and the sewer were to quit functioning, pay attention to where the access lids to the sewer are in your area. If you are anywhere downhill, sewage may back up through these portals and even into your drains and toilets. Give this some thought.
Medical
In a TEOTWAWKI situation, people may show up late or be accepted into the group that weren’t there in the beginning. We need to consider that these folks, whether loved ones or strangers, may be bringing something unwanted with them. If possible, a quarantine area should be set up, where these people could spend two weeks away from the group, to make sure they aren’t sick. It may sound cruel, but these people should remain without direct contact with the group. Radio contact or distant voice communication, if acceptable, would help them significantly. Their meals could be dropped off on paper plates that they could burn after they’ve eaten. Anything that is needed should be brought and dropped off so as not to expose the other members of the group. The newcomers would need to remain in the quarantine area at all times and not interact with people, animals, areas, or equipment. If after two weeks they are well, the chances are greatly reduced that they have a communicable disease.
There should also be a separate area for medical procedures—a bedroom or bathroom. This area should be kept spotless at all times. All items being used would need to be boiled or steamed (a steam canner or pressure canner as an autoclave) and all fabrics baked (two hundred degrees for one hour) prior to use. Tables, trays, and equipment should be washed and bleached. Alcohol is a great bacteria killer. New garbage bags could be used to cover tables, chairs, etc., prior to use and after cleaning, and to protect between activities. They are fairly sanitary. Disposable rubber gloves and masks should be worn when treating patients, and if blood is present goggles should be worn (swim goggles, or ski goggles over glasses would work). Used dressings and the like should be burned or buried deeply, away from the area.
Rodents and flies that carry disease will probably be a major