Abstract
Composting toilet using sawdust matrix has a potential to keep pathogens that might be occasionally contained in human feces. Especially pathogenic viruses should be taken care of, because they have higher tolerance than pathogenic bacteria. Therefore it's important to monitor pathogenic viruses. In this study, we focused on fecal enterococcus and investigated whether it could be available for viral indicator in composting toilet . Firstly, it was confirmed that fecal enterococcus was consistently detected in actu-ally composting toilet, and the concentration was so high that the fluctuation of the indicator could be detected. Secondly, the fate of fecal enterococcus was compared with that of coliphages in various conditions. Finally, it was investigated how to control pathogenic risk of compost, and check the availability of enterococcus as viral indicator in some operating conditions. The fate of enterococcus and coliphages were confirmed in high pH sawdust which was added calcium oxide (CaO). As the results, except for the case of higher water content and lower temperature, or high pH, fecal enterococcus could be an appropriate indicator for pathogenic viruses.
