Simplified Procedures for Managing Insecticidal Waste: A Case Report of KCMUCo-PAMVERC Vector Control Product Testing Facility in North-Eastern Tanzania
, Menan Jangu 3, Njelembo J. Mbewe 2,4, Johnson Matowo 1,2, Magreth F. Shayo 1,2, Robert Kaaya 1,2, Benson Mawa 1,2, Amandus Joram 1,2, Mathew J. Kirby 2,4, Mark W. Rowland 2,4 and Franklin Mosha 1,2Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Dear authors, I've had the opportunity to review the paper "Simplified procedures for managing insecticidal wastes; a case of KCMUCo-PAMVERC vector control product testing facility in north-eastern Tanzania".
The paper is interesting as case study and I only would suggest you to implement it in three points.
Please add in the abstract and, especially in the introduction, a final paragraph containing the added value of this paper as well an introduction to key findings.
I consider Section, 2. "Key policies and guidelines availability for insecticidal waste management" an important section of this paper. Therefore the paper would benefit if the authors tried to add some more information in this section. For example, may you kindly add some your considerations about the effectiveness of some of such policies?
As a consequences the reference lists shall be integrated with some - if available - papers regarding policy implementation and policy analysis as mentioned above.
Author Response
We have gone through all the Reviewer's comments. We found them very useful, and we have worked to address all areas pointed out by the Reviewer.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
This manuscript is rather a technical report than a scientific paper. Is too descriptive without a quantitate analysis of insecticidal wastes. A broad discussion is required related to this type of waste management in Africa and beyond to better understand the context.
Conclusion sections contain references ...this section should be included in the discussion section . Literature needs improvement.
Author Response
We have considered all comments from Reviewer 2. We have revised our manuscript considerably to adequately address issues which has been identified. We have added quantitative analysis of waste, restructured the manuscript and improved the literature and other sections. Our responses are red in color in the attached document.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
This paper describes a case study of insecticidal waste management developed at an insecticide test facility located in Tanzania. Although there is not too much science in this paper, it is well written and organized and can be very useful, as pointed out by the authors in their conclusions: “This paper outlined simple but safe practices derived from international and national guidelines that can be adopted by other similar facilities.”, particularly, in developing countries.
Given the clarity and the usefulness of the information presented in this paper I recommend publication after minor revision.
Specific comments:
Line 13 “…large amount…” “…a large amount…”
Line 23 The inclusion of climate as a keyword.
Although it could make sense, as Tanzania corresponds to a particular type of climate, climatic conditions were not discussed by the authors in the text. Therefore, I recommend deleting this keyword.
Line 28 “…alternative insecticide…” “…alternative insecticides…”
Line 36 “…imported in 2003 compared to only 500 tons in 2000, with 18% of total imported pesticides dedicated for public health [6,7].”
Data have around 20 years. Aren’t there more recent data regarding pesticide use in Tanzania?
Line 52 “…high-pressure…” “…high-performance…”
Lines 69-73 Identifying national and international policies and guidelines
The authors should clarify if the referred policies/guidelines are national or international.
Line 74 Please define the acronym SOP.
Line 86 “…Noth…” “…North…”
Figure 2 Please explain the meaning of IRS.
Line 143 “…(Armorgard Ltd, Unit 14-16 Standard Way, Fare-143 ham Industrial Park, Fareham, Hampshire, PO16 8XB, United Kingdom)…” “…(Armorgard Ltd, Fareham, United Kingdom)…”
Line 150 “…incinerating the hazardous solid waste incineration.” “…incinerating the hazardous solid waste.”
Figure 3 It would be convenient to improve the quality and orientation of Figure 3.
Figure 6 First line Is the * relevant?
Second line “1&5” The number 5 refers to what?
Line 202 “…require++…” ??
Line 220 “…ffacilities…” “…facilities…”
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
We have considered all comments from Reviewer 3. We have revised our manuscript considerably to adequately address issues which has been identified. Our responses are red in color in the attached document
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
The manuscript shows some improvements ..but it is written like a book chapter, not a research paper as claimed by the authors.
the Results and The discussion sections need to be further developed and improved supported by a review of literature related to pesticide waste management. What is the situation of pesticide waste management in Africa/Asia and other developing countries in relation to Tanzania situation ?etc
More discussion about table 1 is required
Table 1. Average chemical waste generated per year from 2018 to 2021
Author Response
We have read the reviewers comments and responded to all of them, as follows:
Responses to the Reviewer
Comment: The manuscript shows some improvements. But it is written like a book chapter, not a research paper as claimed by the authors.
Response: The write up has been revised, elucidating following template’s length, style, and format. We have also clarified the methods and results section.
Comment: the Results and The discussion sections need to be further developed and improved supported by a review of literature related to pesticide waste management.
Response: The result and discussion sections were further improved with support of relevant literature.
Comment: What is the situation of pesticide waste management in Africa/Asia and other developing countries in relation to Tanzania situation? etc
Response: We have discussed the waste management based on few publications on pesticide (mostly agricultural) waste management in Tanzania and East Africa (references: 6,7 & 8), but we were not able to identify recent publication on management of insecticides (from public health sector), and this is one of the reasons to write this manuscript on this field.
Comment: More discussion about table 1 is required
Response: Results (Table 1) is now discussed in the discussion section
Comment: Table 1. Average chemical waste generated per year from 2018 to 2021
Response: Results (Table 1) is now discussed in the discussion section
Please receive an attached responses document
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
