Cleaner, greener floors: Stanford study finds low-carbon concrete can help curb parasitic infections
The results suggest sustainable concrete flooring could help protect children’s health in low-resource settings while cutting carbon emissions.
Stanford researchers working in rural Bangladesh have found that simple mopping can remove more than 95% of parasitic roundworm eggs from cement-based floors — including those made with lower-carbon mixes containing fly ash, a byproduct of coal combustion. The study, published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, offers the first detailed look at how disease-causing Ascaris eggs behave on cement surfaces under realistic conditions. The findings suggest that sustainable, cement-based flooring can help reduce infections in low-resource settings where soil floors harbor parasites, without sacrificing cleaning effectiveness.
The Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment-funded research supports ongoing efforts to explore how low-carbon concrete floors could improve health while cutting emissions. Read more about the project here as part of our Uncommon Collaborators series.
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