When a disaster strikes nothing is ever the same again. The survivors of the devastating tsunami in South East Asia or the earthquake in Haiti may have survived the initial disaster, but they then had an even bigger killer to face – disease – spread by poor sanitation in the aftermath of the disaster.

However, at the University of Brighton a team of researchers is working on a project that could change this situation forever.

In 2010, the team successfully trialled a simple wastewater disinfectant system in response to the Haiti earthquake. The trial treated over 600,000 litres of wastewater which helped to prevent the onward transmission of diseases, such as cholera, to the local community. 

This inexpensive new system could ensure that sanitation issues within disaster zones can be controlled, meaning that thousands of victims of a disaster no longer have to face the further threat of disease spread through poor sanitation.