Degrees:

Ph.D. Environmental Health Sciences; University of California, Berkeley
M.P.H. Environmental Health Sciences; University of California, Berkeley
M.Sc., Water Quality Management; University of Surrey, UK
B.S. Chemistry, Universidad Mayor de San Simon, Bolivia

Teaching:

• Safe Water¹
• Wastewater Management¹
• Introduction to Environmental Health
• Elements in Environmental Engineering
• Technical Advances in Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment
• Fundamentals of Environmental Health²

¹ include theory and laboratory sections

² in development

Research Interests:

Current research projects include lead speciation in drinking water, nutrients reclamation in wastewater treatment, sewage sludge disposal and exposure assessment, the impact of septic systems in coastal areas, water management and health in rural and urban populations. Main research areas of interest are the following:

• The use of the water cycle as a public health tool. An enhanced understanding of water interactions with air, soil, and energy requires interdisciplinary and inter-institutional collaboration. This enhanced understanding would contribute to using the water cycle as an effective tool to protect public health.
• Surveillance programs for water quality management. Water quality is a key factor in the protection of the environment and human health. Monitoring and surveillance programs carefully designed and established would help in the supply of safe water to people in the US and elsewhere.
• Sanitary surveys and epidemiology of water related diseases. Sanitary surveys for drinking, recreational, and waste water systems are procedures that need to be enhanced in the epidemiology of water related diseases. Data collected through these surveys might contribute to better understanding the epidemiology of water related diseases.

• Hygiene practices and safe water. Perhaps the ultimate barrier to protect human health from exposure to contaminated water is good hygiene. At the same time, change in human behavior is challenging. Approaches such as the combination of social capital principles and water and health economics might contribute to the promotion of good hygiene practices.

Areas of Interest

• Safe water –from the source to the point of use
• Energy consumption and the economics of water treatment processes
• Environmental health and the built environment
• Environmental epidemiology

Contact Information:
3408 Carol Belk Building
Greenville, NC  27858
zaratem@ecu.edu