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    <title>Transport Research International Documentation (TRID)</title>
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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Transport Research International Documentation (TRID)</title>
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    <item>
      <title>Out-of-home toilet access, transport disadvantage, and dignified ageing in Africa</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2714592</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Research on mobility, ageing, and population health is increasingly engaging with the mobility and wellbeing of older people in Africa. This long-overdue shift begins to correct a literature historically shaped by Western contexts and positions the field better to address Africa's rapid and diverse ageing transition in the decades ahead. Yet access to out-of-home toilets remains largely overlooked as one critical factor shaping later-life mobility and social participation. This paper addresses that gap by informing interventions and policies that integrate safe and age-friendly toilet access across public spaces, transport systems, and everyday mobility networks. Provision of such toilet access is essential to enabling older people to remain active, mobile, and socially connected. The paper advances research on population ageing and transport-related health in three ways. First, the authors re-center Africa within a body of work that has largely examined toilets as mobility-enabling infrastructure in later life through Global North perspectives, while recognizing the continent's distinct and differentiated social, spatial, and infrastructural contexts. Second, the authors develop a holistic understanding of transport disadvantage in later life as an embodied experience shaped not only by structural transport barriers and age-related physiological change, but also by the fundamental bodily needs that arise during travel. Third, the paper establishes the foundations for a new interdisciplinary research agenda linking transport geography, sanitation, ageing, and population health to support more responsive and inclusive policy on toilet access, mobility, and wellbeing in later life. Overall, the paper positions access to out-of-home toilets as a central requirement for achieving a healthier, more dignified, independent, and socially engaged experience of later life.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:49:54 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2714592</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Identifying Sources of Unpleasant Odors in Men's Railway Station Restrooms and Verifying Effectiveness of Countermeasures to Reduce Those Odors</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2675874</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Unpleasant odors in restrooms in railway stations and on trains are one of the objects of many complaints from railway customers. Therefore, countermeasures to reduce these unpleasant odors are required. In railway station restrooms, we are investigating the sources of ammonia, one of the main compounds responsible for unpleasant odors in public restrooms. To conduct this investigation, we developed a prototype of a portable, highly sensitive ammonia measuring instrument. We used this instrument to search for sources of ammonia in men's railway station restrooms and conﬁrmed the difference in concentration of ammonia depending on cleaning methods and seasons. In addition, we verified the effectiveness of countermeasures implemented by cleaning companies to reduce unpleasant odors.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jun 2026 08:38:12 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2675874</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Flammability Test of Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizer</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2696970</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Some concerns have been raised about the flammability characteristics of personal hand sanitizer, which is presently being used in lavatories on many commercial airlines to mitigate the spread of the H1N1 virus. Personal hand sanitizer is a fluid, which is generally composed of approximately 60% ethyl alcohol by volume, and comes in two primary forms: liquid and gel. To examine the general flammability characteristics of alcohol-based hand sanitizers, a series of small-scale tests were performed at the William J. Hughes Technical Center by the Fire Safety Team. Both gel and liquid hand sanitizers were examined. Tests were also performed to determine if hand sanitizer spillage could pose a significant fire threat. The effect of burning hand sanitizer on typical aircraft materials was examined. Antibacterial liquid soap was also burned adjacent to typical aircraft materials to compare with the hand sanitizer results. As expected, hand sanitizer is flammable and can easily be ignited with a common grill lighter when poured into a pan. It tends to burn relatively cool, compared to fuel, plastic, or cellulose fires with peak flame temperatures between 500° and 1000°F. The observed temperatures above the flame were higher for the liquid hand sanitizer compared to the gel. The vapor is flammable and can be ignited by heating the liquid from the bottom and then igniting the vapor. The hot liquid does not have to be present to ignite the vapor; however, the vapor could not be ignited at room or elevated ambient temperatures (up to 100°F) without bottom-heating the hand sanitizer. When a nearly full bottle of sanitizer was involved in a fire started by burning paper towels, it burned hotter and somewhat vigorously. At one point, a fire burning adjacent to a 12-ounce liquid bottle of hand sanitizer reached temperatures in excess of 1500°F. When the hand sanitizer was burned adjacent to typical aircraft interior panels oriented horizontally or vertically, the panel did not ignite and burn independently, and there was no significant damage to the panel. From the tests conducted, burning hand sanitizer presents no significant risk to commercial transport aircraft fire safety, given the present cabin material flammability requirements.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 25 May 2026 15:32:08 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2696970</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Towards a transportation/mobility grounding for toilet access crisis in African cities</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2571440</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Africa is one of the key sites of global toilet suffering, with some 779 million people experiencing deficient access to adequate, safe and clean toilets. Sanitation and development scholars and practitioners have extensively documented the impacts of toilet suffering and inadequate access to sanitation generally in Africa on various dimensions of sustainable development, including its adverse effects on public health (e.g., disease impacts); women and girl’s safety (e.g., toilet access-linked sexual violence); girl-child education (e.g. school absenteeism and abandonment among girls linked to toilet access impediments during menstruation) and the economy generally (e.g., impact on health spending and productivity losses). Much less, however, is known about the effects on sustainable urban transport. This paper contributes to the limited research on toilet access and mobility in African cities. It argues that toilet suffering in urban transport context poses important sustainability concerns related, but not limited, to pleasant mobility experience; equitable everyday access, public participation and urban citizenship; road safety; occupational health and safety that could benefit from knowledge building and further learning. The paper aims to stimulate a shift towards making toilet access more valued and embedded in urban and mobility policy and research in Africa.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 25 Sep 2025 09:30:18 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2571440</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Survey of Railway Customer Perception of Men's Restroom Cleanliness in Railway Stations</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2516936</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In order to extract factors that affect customer evaluations of men's restrooms in railway stations, the authors conducted surveys to understand railway customer perception of men's restroom cleanliness in railway stations. Statistical analysis of the survey results revealed that two indicators, “odor satisfaction” and “urine stains on skirting boards,” affect user perception of cleanliness and their decision to use the same restroom again. It also became clear that user perception of the cleanliness of men's railway restrooms cleaned using dry methods in terms of odor was statistically significantly higher than those cleaned with wet methods.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 23 May 2025 15:34:42 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2516936</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Environmental Assessment Concerning Environmental Load Reduction at Highway Service Areas in Japan by Introducing Low Environmental Load Toilets</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2281159</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In this study, the reduction on the environmental load by the replacement of conventional toilets with low environmental load toilets such as water recycling urine-diverting toilets newly developed at highway service areas in Japan was quantified and a cost-benefit analysis concerning introducing low environmental load toilets were performed. The Moriya service area, which is one of the large—scale service areas and the Minori service area, which is middle—scale, were selected for the case study. As for the results, the water use and energy consumption, cost, and pollution load, especially, total nitrogen and phosphorous were expected to be reduced greatly as black water was removed by the water recycling urinals and urine-diverting toilets. Concerning the cost, a reduction of 247 and 25 thousand dollars, respectively, in the Moriya and Minori service areas was estimated by reducing the amount of water use. These results of the estimation are valuable for considering the cost of treatment for the removed urine in this system.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 05 Nov 2024 09:06:24 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2281159</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Energy and Cost Benefit Evaluation of a Urine Diversion System—A Case Study at Highway Service Areas in Japan</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2280172</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In this study, the reduction on the environmental load by the replacement of conventional toilets with low environmental load toilets such as water recycling urine-diverting toilet newly developed at highway service areas in Japan was quantified and a cost-benefit analysis concerning introducing low environmental load toilets were performed. Moriya service area which is one of the large-scale service areas and Minori service area which is the middle-scale one were selected for the case study. As for the results, the pollution load, especially, total nitrogen and phosphorous were expected to be reduced by 94% and 79 % from existed system, respectively, in the Minori service area. Concerning the burden of energy and cost, the payback periods by introducing the urine diversion system were 0.3 and 0.8 years for energy, and 2.8 and 12.6 years for cost at Moriya and Minori service area, respectively.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 27 Dec 2023 15:03:25 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2280172</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Unveiling indicator, enteric, and respiratory viruses in aircraft lavatory wastewater using adsorption-extraction and Nanotrap® Microbiome A Particles workflows</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2207926</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The effective detection of viruses in aircraft wastewater is crucial to establish surveillance programs for monitoring virus spread via aircraft passengers. This study aimed to compare the performance of two virus concentration workflows, adsorption-extraction (AE) and Nanotrap® Microbiome A Particles (NMAP), in detecting the prevalence and concentrations of 15 endogenous viruses including ssDNA, dsDNA, ssRNA in 24 aircraft lavatory wastewater samples. The viruses tested include two indicator viruses, four enteric viruses, and nine respiratory viruses. The results showed that cross-assembly phage (crAssphage), human polyomavirus (HPyV), rhinovirus A (RhV A), and rhinovirus B (RhV B) were detected in all wastewater samples using both workflows. However, enterovirus (EV), human norovirus (HNoV GII), human adenovirus (HAdV), bocavirus (BoV), parechovirus (PeV), epstein-barr virus (EBV), influenza A virus (IAV), and respiratory syncytial virus B (RsV B) were infrequently detected by both workflows, and hepatitis A virus (HAV), influenza B virus (IBV), and respiratory syncytial virus B (RsV A) were not detected in any samples. The NMAP workflow had greater detection rates of RNA viruses (EV, PeV, and RsV B) than the AE workflow, while the AE workflow had greater detection rates of DNA viruses (HAdV, BoV, and EBV) than the NMAP workflow. The concentration of each virus was also analyzed, and the results showed that crAssphage had the highest mean concentration (6.76 log₁₀ GC/12.5 mL) followed by HPyV (5.46 log₁₀ GC/12.5 mL using the AE workflow, while the mean concentrations of enteric and respiratory viruses ranged from 2.48 to 3.63 log₁₀ GC/12.5 mL. Using the NMAP workflow, the mean concentration of crAssphage was 5.18 log₁₀ GC/12.5 mL and the mean concentration of HPyV was 4.20 log₁₀ GC/12.5 mL, while mean concentrations of enteric and respiratory viruses ranged from 2.55 to 3.74 log₁₀ GC/12.5 mL. Significantly higher (p < 0.05) mean concentrations of crAssphage and HPyV were observed when employing the AE workflow in comparison to the NMAP workflow. Conversely, the NMAP workflow yielded significantly greater (p < 0.05) concentrations of RhV A, and RhV B compared to the AE workflow. The findings of this study can aid in the selection of an appropriate concentration workflow for virus surveillance studies and contribute to the development of efficient and reliable virus detection methods.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 23 Aug 2023 15:24:35 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2207926</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>When You Gotta Go, You Gotta Go: Public Transport Operators’ Deficient Access to Toilet in the United States</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2117734</link>
      <description><![CDATA[As with other street-based workers, public transport operators in the United States (US) face a great deal of personal hygiene uncertainty while on the job. There is a general lack of public toilets in the cities with only a few public transport facilities equipped with toilets. Even where restrooms are available, sanitary and safety concerns, schedule pressures and traffic, vague and unrealistic procedures for securing and leaving vehicles tend to undermine operators’ access. Concerns about embarrassment or negative passenger reaction and fear of disciplinary actions also tend to discourage public transport operators from using restrooms. As a result, many operators are forced to reduce fluid and food intake and avoid taking urination-affecting medications for fear of conflicting their work schedules with their excretory needs. Others have developed “systems” to “hold it in”. In unbearable circumstances, however, they release themselves into cups/bottles/piles of newspapers and diapers while others do it in bushes/gutters/tunnels and on train tracks, and bus tires. Much has been written about the litany of personal harms (including the urinary tract and kidney infections) linked to public transport operators’ deficient access to toilet. Much less, however, is known about the problem’s impact on sustainable public transport including its undermining effects on safe and pleasant public transport experience, recruiting and retaining qualified operators, and efficient scheduling and reliability of public transport systems. This paper fills this gap in US toilet and transportation research, and aims to stimulate a social mental shift to demand and support prioritizing access to more safe and clean toilets in transportation and urban planning.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2023 09:05:16 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2117734</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>ACRP Research Report 226: Planning and Design of Airport Terminal Restrooms and Ancillary Spaces</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1900106</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This article highlights the recently published report, Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Research Report 226: Planning and Design of Airport Terminal Restrooms and Ancillary Spaces. Report 226 is an update to the 2015 ACRP Report 130: Guidebook for Airport Terminal Restroom Planning and Design. Research findings are presented on: (1) required or essential spaces, such as, lactation rooms and animal relief areas; (2) waiting areas, such as, worship spaces or children's play areas; and (3) layover related amenities, such as, sleeping spaces. Ten airports were selected for case studies.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 30 Dec 2021 10:12:05 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1900106</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Airport Restrooms and COVID-19</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1900110</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This brief article highlights airport restroom design that focuses on the health of passengers. It discusses touchless operation, effective airflow, individual nodes, and frequent cleaning.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 30 Dec 2021 10:12:05 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1900110</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Planning and Design of Airport Terminal Restrooms and Ancillary Spaces</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1765642</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This report provides a thoughtful, step-by-step process to help airport industry practitioners plan, design, and implement terminal restroom and other ancillary amenity projects. It is an updated and expanded version of ACRP Report 130 and reflects the latest thinking in this quickly evolving topic. The guidebook effectively uses graphics, icons, and callouts to help readers quickly find the information they need to develop facilities that balance cost, aesthetics, space limitations, and day-to-day maintenance requirements. It will be of interest to anyone whose goal is to meet customer expectations for airport restrooms and related facilities.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 31 Jan 2021 15:47:32 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1765642</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Improving the Safety, Health, and Productivity of Transit Operators Through Adequate Restroom Access</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1745131</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Inadequate restroom access has been a concern for transit operators for many years.  This issue not only impacts operators’ well-being but threatens their ability to perform essential job functions safely. This report presents a guide to addressing concerns and approaches to restroom access for public transit agencies. The report includes a catalog of good practices, tools, and resources that provide a foundation for implementable strategies for achieving improved restroom access, primarily for transit vehicle operators. This report also describes safety, health, and financial impacts on transit agencies, operators, and the public arising from limitations to transit operators’ restroom access.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 16 Oct 2020 09:40:45 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1745131</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Aviation Sanitation: FDA Could Better Communicate with Airlines to Encourage Voluntary Construction Inspections of Aircraft
Galleys and Lavatories</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1737747</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Voluntary construction inspections are the primary mechanism by which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees compliance with its required sanitation standards for the construction of aircraft galleys and lavatories. A report accompanying the House 2019 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill included a provision for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review FDA’s process for ensuring proper sanitation in aircraft galleys and lavatories. This report (1) examines the extent to which aircraft are inspected to ensure compliance with FDA’s sanitation standards, and (2) discusses challenges FDA faces in providing aircraft inspections and how FDA is addressing such challenges. GAO reviewed FDA guidance, interviewed FDA officials in headquarters and four selected field offices with high volumes of construction inspections, conducted site visits to meet with FDA inspectors, and interviewed representatives of selected aircraft manufacturers and airlines. GAO recommends that FDA develop a process for communicating directly with all U.S.-based commercial airlines to encourage them to request construction inspections. FDA generally agreed with GAO's recommendation.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2020 17:51:12 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1737747</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Study on Compact Barrier-Free Lavatories for Small Passenger Ships</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1705698</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In Japan, over 400 small islands have residents in Japan and small passenger ships are vital means for transportation for the residents and visitors to the islands. A typical small passenger ship in Japan is about 20 m long and has a capacity of around 50 passengers. Japanese barrier-free guidelines for passenger ships are issued for supplementing “Japanese barrier-free law.” The guidelines recommend that lavatories of passenger ships should be barrier-free regardless of sizes of ships. The guidelines also show a full-size barrier-free lavatory. However, the full-size barrier-free lavatories have difficulties to be installed in small passenger ships owing to the limited space.  Considering the aforementioned situation, the research team designed several types of compact barrier-free lavatories after interviews and questionnaire investigations to ship builders and ship owners. Then the research team made mock-ups based on the designs and conducted experiments on land to find the smallest sizes and to examine the usability. In the experiments, two wheelchair users and two visually impaired persons evaluated the usability. The research team confirmed the usability thorough interviews to the disabled persons and the caretaker supporting one of the wheelchair users. Finally, the research team designed general arrangements of small passenger ships with the compact barrier-free lavatories to examine the feasibility of installing the lavatories.  Individual passenger ship can choose the suitable barrier-free lavatory among the designs the research team proposed according to the ship's feature and the navigational environment. The development of these compact barrier-free lavatories can encourage activities for disabled persons and motivate ship owners to build new barrier-free passenger ships.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 11 May 2020 16:06:45 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1705698</guid>
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