Objective To analyze the results of monitoring rural environmental sanitation in Tongjiang County, Sichuan Province, China, conduct a phased evaluation of the rural environmental sanitation status of the county, and to provide relevant suggestions.
Methods From 2018 to 2020, five townships (excluding Chengguan Town) were selected in the county in each year, four administrative villages were selected as monitoring sites in each township, five families were selected as monitoring households in each monitoring site, and a farmland was randomly selected for soil test.
Results The coverage rate of centralized drinking water in the surveyed households increased year by year, and that of sanitary toilets reached the action target of 85% set in the Three-Year Action Plan for the Improvement of Rural Living Environment. Monitoring household garbage disposal points mainly included garbage bins/pools and fixed points around the house. The main method of domestic sewage discharge were through pipelines and open ditches. The proportions of households disposing of waste randomly and discharging domestic sewage indiscriminately were 15.67% and 13.67%, respectively. The proportion of households using agricultural film was 56.00%, with disposal method primarily involving incineration. The proportion of households using pesticides was 70.33%, with 67.30% taking protective measures during pesticide use. Pesticides were mainly stored in storage rooms or used immediately after purchase without storage. Waste pesticide packaging bottles (bags) were mainly thrown at the edges of fields or in garbage piles. The proportions of households with flies, rats, and cockroaches/cockroach traces in their kitchens were 70.33%, 40.67%, and 11.33%, respectively. Three monitoring sites tested positive for roundworm eggs and one soil sample exceeded the metal cadmium limit.
Conclusion Rural environmental sanitation in Tongjiang County has improved, but future efforts are needed to strengthen health education and promotion in rural areas to enhance the health literacy of residents. Investments should be increased in domestic sewage discharge, garbage disposal, and vector biological control. Attention should be paid to the environmental hazards and health risks caused by agricultural film waste and pesticide waste packaging bottles (bags). Corresponding rectification measures should be used to further improve rural environmental sanitation.
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