Esgotamento sanitário na cidade de Araguaína (TO)

Abstract

A lack of access to basic sanitation services, especially wastewater collection and treatment, is an actual facts in many Brazilian municipalities, since more than 100 million inhabitants still do not have access to at least basic sanitation services, making use of alternative measures for the destination of the waste, either by means of rudimentary pits or sewage`s discharged directly into the soil or into surface waters. The discharging untreated or inadequately treated wastewater, would increases the exposure to hazardous microorganisms, posing a threat to public health. Despite the chronic problems existing in large metropolises, it is in the peripheries and in the interior regions of Brazil that are found the largest percentage of people without access to public policies in appropriated sanitation, as Araguaina municipality on Tocantins State. Thus, the present work sought to analyze the access to sanitary sewage services of the resident population in the municipality of Araguaína - TO, and its interference in public health, based on secondary data from the National System of Primary Care - SIAB, Epidemiological Surveillance Information - SIVEP, related to Acute Diarrheal Disease - DDA, and Notification of Injury Information System - SINAN. It is a qualitative-quantitative research or mixed methods, which uses bibliographical sources, documentaries and technique of observation. In order to evaluate the data, content analysis and descriptive statistics were adopted. The articulation between the different but complementary approaches was developed through the application of the concomitant triangulation strategy that allowed a better understanding about the object of study. The dissertation addresses, in the general context, considerations about the concepts of basic sanitation and sanitary sewage, in addition of a brief explanation about public policies for sanitation in Brazil, as well as sanitation and development from the perspective of the expansion of substantive freedoms. It also presents a discussion on sanitation and sanitary sewage and its relationship with health with a focus on peoples vulnerability, now portrayed from the perspective of exposure to risk. As a result, the study demonstrated a positive and significant association between the septic tank type for sanitary disposal, and the number of cases of acute diarrheal disease in the municipality, ratifying sanitation interference in public health. It was also noticed that the rudimental septic tank is the most used sanitary sewage alternative in Araguaína, and that the sewage system by general network besides the low coverage index, presents indications of inefficiency in the process of collection and treatment of sewage, functioning as a potential factor of vulnerability, since it exposes the whole population to the risk of illness due to preventable causes, especially regarding acute diarrheal diseases.