فهرست مطالب امیر حسین محوی

Due to the importance of managing medical sharps waste and the potential harm caused by these types of waste, the use of safe technologies that simultaneously encapsulate and reduce their volume is considered one of the essential needs for managing medical waste in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. The main objective of this study was to investigate the efficiency of disinfecting and encapsulating device for medical sharps waste.

This device provides the process of containment and encapsulation of medical sharps waste by creating a stable protective foam without oxidation through inductive heat in a closed environment, preventing the dispersion and release of these wastes. Gas samples from the device's output were collected using the NIOSH 1501 method and analyzed using GC-MS. The performance efficiency of the device was evaluated based on the biological monitoring of the indicator bacterium Bacillus stearothermophilus.

The results showed that the average concentration of BTEX gases (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes) and other volatile organic compounds in the device's output was within the permissible limit. The concentrations of Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylene gases were 0.04, 0.033, 0.029, and 0.029 ppm, respectively. The results of biological monitoring showed that the reduction of the microbial load was 9999.99 (Log 6) and the decontamination process was acceptable.Additionally, this device has the advantage of reducing the volume of sharp and plastic objects during the encapsulation process, which can be further used in plastic pyrolysis/recycling industries.

It is hoped that by using this innovative and domestic device in the decontamination units of hospitals across the country, we can take an effective step towards improving medical waste management, reducing waste production, reducing hospital costs, and preserving and enhancing the country's health.

Mosquito-borne diseases are serious health problems in many countries around the world, and the widespread distribution of their vectors has a major impact on the transmission and spread of these diseases. Mosquitoes play a key role in transmitting arboviruses such as West Nile, Dengue Fever, Chikungunya, Sindbis, Zika, Rift Valley Fever, Batai virus, Usutu virus, East Horse Encephalitis (EEE), and West Nile Virus (WNV), and also some suspected emerging viral agents, such as SARS-CoV-2 (causative agent of COVID-190) and the Zika Virus in the world.There are several methods for mosquitoes larval control. An important challenge in mosquitoes control programs is their resistance to different groups of insecticides. The ultrasonic device is a novel and natural friendly approach for controlling insecticide resistance mosquitoes.

In this study, Ultrasonic TI-H5 device of Elma Company were used against 4th instar larvae of Culex pipiens under laboratory condition. Different variables including; Electrical power (50,100,200, 250 watts), exposure times (1, 2.5, 5, 10, 15 minutes) at two frequencies of 35, and 130 Kilohertz were employed.

Mortality of 4th instar larvae at 35 KH and different exposure time with specific Electronic power was 100%. In 130 KH with increasing exposure time, the mortality was increased.

Insecticides are one of the causes of environmental and water pollution. Also, due to the resistance of mosquitoes to insecticides, the new safe, cost-effective and effective method in integrated pest management programs is the control of mosquito larvae using ultrasonic waves.

Due to the presence of infectious diseases and parasitic contamination in kindergartens, it is very important to observe the health points in these centers. This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted to investigate the environmental health status of Saveh kindergartens in 2020.

A checklist with 133 questions was designed, including 57 questions specific to the conditions of the coronavirus, taken from the instructions for the second step of the fight against the coronavirus and 76 questions from regulation 150/920318. All active kindergartens (9 cases) in the study were included, and the answers to the questions as yes, no, and not applicable were recorded and using SPSS software, independent T, chi-square, and one-way ANOVA was analyzed.

The results obtained from the analysis of the checklist showed that the compliance of the health status of all kinds of kindergartens with the regulations of 150/920318 has a percentage of total desirability that includes personal hygiene (81/4%), food hygiene (63%), tools and equipment hygiene (66/5%), building hygiene (78%), health education (90%), considerations regarding disinfectants and disinfectants based on alcohol (92%) and considerations regarding bleaches (94%). There was no significant relationship between the per capita of each child and the different items on the checklist (p>0/05).

This study showed that the general environmental health status of kindergartens in Saveh was favorable and only two variables of hygiene of tools and equipment (66/5%) and food hygiene (63%) were the least desirable among the studied factors that should be considered.

 Groundwater is the primary water source for drinking and agricultural activities in arid and semi-arid regions. Rainfall, land use, geological structure, aquifer mineralogy, and duration of water contact with the environment in the basement are the main factors affecting the chemical quality of groundwater. This study aimed to determine the physicochemical properties of groundwater by considering the water quality index (WQI) and its quality assessment for drinking water.

 In this study, 71 wells of Kashan were sampled in summer 2020 with three samplings from each well, and physical and chemical parameters were studied, water quality index was determined using mathematical methods, and Pearson correlation coefficient was determined. Correlation analysis was used. Finally, the collected data were analyzed using SPSS-16 software, Excel 2013, and statistical tests. 

 The calculated WQI of 71 wells in Kashan shows that 67% of the wells were of excellent quality, and 33% were of good quality in terms of water quality parameters. In total, out of 71 samples, the numerical index of water quality was 44.94, and the water was of excellent quality.

 The results show that ions such as sodium, sulfate, and chlorine are directly related to the counting in an area and increase the concentrations of EC and TDS, and can impair the balance of anionic and cationic aqueous solution. It was also found that more than half of the wells have excellent quality due to using water wells for drinking.

Ammonia in form of ammonium ions is toxic and could decrease the dissolved oxygen in water and endanger the aquatic life. The aim of this study is the removal of ammonium using oxidation and adsorption by catalytic ozonation and clinoptilolite zeolite, respectively.

The research method is Experimental. First, optimal pH of ammonium adsorption on carbon catalyst (5 g/L), Garmsar and Firoozkooh zeolites and oxidation were determine. Then, in catalytic ozonation process, the effect of other variables on ammonium removal efficiency such as the concentration of carbonic catalyst (0.5- 50 g/L) and the reaction time were investigated. Then the effect of retention time and adsorbent concentration on adsorption of the remaining ammonium and nitrate produced by the oxidation process using zeolites and their modifications were determined.

Resuts:

 The results showed that optimum pH for the ammonium adsorption process by carbon catalyst, catalytic ozonation and zeolite was 8, 9 and 8, respectively. However, the optimum pH 4 was determined for nitrate removal. The highest ammonium absorption capacity was related to natural Firoozookh zeolite and 18.5 mg/g, and the effect of ligand and acid modification decreased 12 and 14% of absorbed capacity, respectively. It is also, the highest nitrate removal efficiency was related to Garmsar ligand modified zeolite (98%) and an absorption capacity of 11.2 mg/g. In the COP/absorption process the concentration of ammonium was decreased to 0.6 m /L.

This method effectively eliminates ammonium, and the modification of zeolite with cationic surfactant increases the efficiency of nitrate removal and the concentrates of all pollutants are brought below standards.

Olive Mill Wastewater (OMWW) is one of the most polluted sanitary wastewaters that its ineffective treatment will cause severe pollution of the environment. In this study, OMWW treatment wasinvestigated using combined electrocoagulation and novel advanced oxidation process. Biodegradability, efficiency and kinetics of removal of turbidity and organic matter from the OMWW by applying the operational parameters of electrocoagulation such as current density (0-0.77 A/dm2), type of anode electrode, reaction time (0-45 min) were investigated. Various types of advanced oxidation processes were performed to determine the the efficiency of removal of TOC and kinetics and biobegradability. The optimum condition for removing turbidity, BOD, TOC and consumed Iron anode electrod in electrocoagulation were 78%, 57%, 72% and 583 mg/ per liter of wastewater, respectively. Thus, the kinetic of TOC removal was first-order and was 0.027 min-1. The TOC removal efficiency of pretreated OMWW in oxidation processes of US, H2O2, SOP, O3 / H2O2, COP, COP/US and H2O2/COP/US were measured as 8%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 61%, 68% and 75%, respectively. The highest biodegradability index (BOD/TOC) in the COP/US/H2O2 process was increased 1.5 times. The advenced oxidation process of COP/US/H2O2 follwed by electrocagulation demonstrated an effective treatment of OMWW and improved its biodegradability. Therefore, this process can be used for efficient treatment of OMWW in olive and similar industries.

Background and purpose: Sonocatalytic process as an advanced oxidation process is considered for degradation of pollutants in aqueous solution. The aim of this study was to increase the removal of dye by doping of TiO2 with non-metal element such as nitrogen. Un-doped and N-doped TiO2 nano-particles with different nitrogen contents were synthesized by a simple sol–gel method in laboratory. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), and UV–visible diffuse reflectance spectra (UV-vis DRS) were used for characterization of the synthesized nanoparticles. The sonocatalytic activity of synthesized nanoparticles was evaluated by investigating degradation of reactive blue 29 under ultrasonic radiation and the effects of nitrogen doping content, different initial pH of solution, and dye concentration. The study showed that both un-doped and doped nano-particles were in nano-sized that tend to agglomerate. By using different nano-particles, the highest sonocatalytic activity was achieved by 0.6 N-doped TiO2 with 58 % after 90 min of ultrasonic irradiation. Effect of initial pH of aqueous solution showed that the sonocatalytic activity decreased by increase in initial pH. Sonocatalysis using N-doped TiO2 was found to be an effective method for degradation of textile dyes. The high sonocatalytic activity could be attributed to the band gap narrowing and anatase phase in TiO2 nanoparticles. Sonocatalytic degradation followed the Langmuir–Hinshelwood kinetic model (R2 = 0.98) with a rate constant of 0.01 mg L−1 min−1.

Background and Nitrate, nitrite and other physicochemical parameters of the pollutants of groundwater resources which are mainly associated with agricultural and wastewater disposal areas. The aim of this study was to determine these parameters in drinking groundwater resource of Saveh city using Geographic Information System during the year of 2018 and investigation of contaminant’s in the region’s aquifer.
In this descriptive cross - sectional study, data including temperature, Nitrate, Nitrite, pH, TDS, Total hardness, Fluoride, Ammonium, Sulfate, Chloride, and Sodium’s monitoring in Saveh during the year of 2018. Monthly concentrations of these parameters were calculated, and then relationships between pollutants and region’s aquifer analyzed by GIS software version 9.3. Also, the Inverse Distance Wighted (IDW) method was used to estimate the conditions of the whole region.
Findings: The average concentration of chlorine, sulfate, electrical conductivity, total soluble solids, total hardness and sodium exceeds the permissible limits, and the non-qualitative water conditions are quite evident. Also, the amount of two magnesium and sulfate synergist ions that in their 1053 standard should not exceed 250 and 30 mg/l respectively, but unfortunately did not conform to this standard. It should be kept in mind that the high level of these two ions simultaneously can disrupt the harshness. Fluoride and nitrate levels were also acceptable range in all areas.
The highest deviation level from 1053 standard was for total soluble solids, sodium, magnesium, and sulfate. It is better to consider a comprehensive program to solve the problem, including use of nanotechnology, filtering or ion exchange

Total organic carbon (TOC) is an indicator which presents water pollution via wastewater and organic pollutants including pesticides. TOC content in water presents organic matter and resulted that some countries use TOC as an indicator for assessing row water quality and water treatment facilities.
This study was done to determine total organic carbon concentration in groundwater resources in Qazvin plain.
Eighty-one water samples were selected randomly in arid and semi-arid climates in Qazvin plain in winter and spring of 2016. Sample stations were located in Qazvin, Takestan, Abyek and Buin Zahra cities. TOC analysis was done with SGE ANATOC™ Series II analyzer.
Findings: The average of TOC concentrations were detected 0.88, 0.68, 0.81 and 0.79 mg/L in Qazvin, Takestan, Abyek and Boin Zahra cities, respectively, with the mean of 0.79 mg/L. In addition, no significant relationship was found between land use and TOC concentration in groundwater.
The average of detected TOC in groundwater resources in the study area was lower than acceptable levels provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The obtained results revealed that there were low potential for production of disinfection by-products in chlorination process. Low levels of TOC in water resources can be due to the performance of filtration and reduction processes.

Background and Nowadays, Presence of heavy metals such as cadmium in agricultural soils, is regarded as a serious threat to human health in recent years. Phytoremediation is a method by which heavy metal accumulate in plant tissues, hence elimination of these elements from contaminated soils would be possible. The aim of this study was to investigate the removal of cadmium from soil-compost by alfalfa using EDTA and (NH4)2SO4.
The effect of changes on initial concentration of cadmium (10 to 200 mg of cadmium per kg of soil-compost) and the ratio of EDTA (5 to 15 mg per kg of soil-compost) to (NH4)2SO4 (200 mg per kg of soil-compost) on the removal of cadmium were investigated. Concentration of cadmium was determined by ICP. Analysis of data was performed in R software based on central composite design (CCD) model and SPSS.
The highest concentration of cadmium uptake was observed in the root of alfalfa. Application of EDTA in higher doses had significant effect on absorption in plant root (P Phytoremediation has proved to be effective in removing cadmium from agricultural soil. It is a safe, an eco-friendly technology, and requires inexpensive reagents. According to this investigation, adding (NH4)2SO4 with EDTA can be effective in improving Phytoremediation process.

Radon is a colorless, odorless half-life radioactive gas that that can be emission from decorative stones such as granite, marble, etc. inhaling radon gas over a long period may increase in lung cancer among patients.
Material and In this cross-sectional-descriptive study, Radon 222 and Thoron concentrations was measured in four Decorative stones of warehouse by Radon meter portable RTM1688-2 model in three stages. In total, 24 concentrations of 24 hours of indoor air and 24 concentrations of 4 hours of Radon 222 and thoron of the background air were measured. Then, effective dose received of Radon 222 and Thoron was calculated by UNSCEAR equations.
The mean indoor air radon and background air were 74±37 and 34±16 Bq/m3, respectively. The mean concentration of Radon of indoor air in Decorative stones of warehouses in DSW1, DSW2, DSW3 and DSW4 is 72.50±34, 98.25±43, 34.42±18 and 88.92±51 Bq/m3. The mean effective dose received by the staff from Radon 222 and Thoron at 8 working hours is 0.53±0.18 and 0.05±0.03 mSv/y and in 16 working hours is 1.05±0.36 and 0.11±0.07 mSv/y, respectively. Also, the mean effective dose received by staff from Radon at 8 and 16 working hours is 0.58±0.2 and 1.16±0.41 mSv/y.
Mean radon concentration in indoor air and the mean effective dose received by staff is lower than the standards level. Decorative stone of warehouses is the resources accumulation of Radon gas that can be reduced by doing corrective actions.

IntroductionArsenic is a toxic metalloid and exists in nature in the two organic and mineral forms. Arsenate is the oxidized form and is predominant in the surface waters, while arsenite is a reduced form and is often found in the groundwater. Besides, toxicity and solubility of arsenite is more than that of arsenate. Excessive and prolonged human intake of inorganic arsenic, through drinking water and food, causes arsenicosis, which includes skin disorders, skin cancer, internal organ cancer, arm and leg vascular diseases and diabetes. The World Health Organization (WHO) guideline value for arsenic in drinking water is set as 10 µg/l. It should be noted that this standard is 50 µg/l in Asia and also in Iran. There are three main methods for arsenic removal from drinking water, including membrane filtration, coagulation-precipitation and adsorption. Water treatment by means of the magnetic field has been recently considered. Ma Wei et al. investigated the arsenic removal via sulfide ions in the magnetic field. Stephen and Coey carried out a study on water treatment using the magnetic field. Lipus et al. surveyed the influence of magnetic field on the aragonite precipitation. Also, Ambashta et al. investigated water purification using magnetic assistance. Besides, Ochkov et al. conducted a study on magnetic treatment of water. Gholizadeh et al. investigated the effect of magnetic field on scale prevention in the industrial boilers. Amiri et al. carried out a study on the reduction of the surface tension of water due to magnetic treatment. In addition, Banejad et al. conducted an experiment on the effect of magnetic field on water hardness reducing. In this study, the efficiency of iron filings in arsenite removal from polluted water was primarily surveyed, and then the effect of magnetic field on the process was investigated. The innovation of this research will be to understand the importance of physical forces such as magnetic field in the field of water purification and its application in the water industry.
Materials and Methods Preparation of AdsorbentThe required iron filings were prepared in the turning workshops of Tehran, Iran. The iron filings were passed through a sieve with pores of 2 mm and were made wet using deionized water, and ferric hydroxide precipitation was allowed to be formed on the surface of the filings.
Making the Magnetic ColumnA circular magnet with the magnetic field intensity of 0.01 T was primarily placed around a glass column and a iron spiral was located in front of the magnet inside the column, so that the sediments on it could be reacted. (Discharge velocity was 2 mm/s).
Preparation of the SamplesThe synthetically arsenic-polluted water samples were prepared by diluting 0.1N sodium arsenite solution (Merck) with de-ionized water. In addition, to prevent the oxidation of arsenite to arsenate the required solutions were prepared on a daily basis at 0.5 and 2 mg/l concentrations.
The TestsThe prepared arsenite solutions at 0.5 and 2 mg/l concentrations were reacted in contact with the iron filings adsorbent at 0, 2.5 and 5 g/l dosages over contact times of 5, 10 and 15 minutes within a beaker with the volume of 100 mL on the shaker at the velocity of 400 rpm. Half of the sample (50 ml) was then passed through the column at the velocity of 2 mm/s and a blank (without iron filings) was considered for each sample. Then, the arsenic concentration of the samples was measured by the ICP system. Moreover, the electrical conductivity of the samples was measured using EC meter. After data collection the arsenic removal efficiency in any state was calculated. Mean and standard deviation of removal efficiencies were determined and the variables were compared with each other by means of paired t-test and one-way ANOVA.
Discussion of results and conclusions MixingThe results indicated that with the increase of the initial arsenic concentration, the removal efficiency also increased that was due to the oxidation of arsenite into the insoluble arsenate ion. Via analysis of iron filings by extraction with hydrochloric acid, Hsing et al. showed that almost 28% of arsenic has existed in the form of arsenate, which revealed that oxidation has also been effective in arsenic removal.
Initial Arsenic ConcentrationThe results demonstrated that with the increase of the initial arsenic concentration, the arsenic removal efficiency decreased. Yu Zhang achieved the adsorption capacity of 16 mg/g at the arsenic concentration of 1 mg/l, while Hsing reported the adsorption capacity of 7.5 at the arsenic concentration of 50 mg/l.
Iron Filings DosageBased on the obtained results, with the increase of the iron filings dosage, the arsenic removal efficiency increased as well. Tyrovola et al. showed that with the increase of the iron filings dose, the removal efficiency of arsenite ion increases.
Contact TimeThe results showed with the increase of the contact time desorption can occur at various times. In the samples with high arsenic concentration and iron filings, due to ferric hydroxide sites on the iron filings and therefore higher adsorption, the desorption process occurred at longer contact times.
pHThe iron filings, unlike the other adsorbents, have a high affinity to the reaction with arsenic at the normal pH of water. Ramaswami et al. removed the arsenite by iron fillings at the pH of 7 with the efficiency of 95%.
The Magnetic FieldThe results showed that the magnetic field reduced the arsenic level of the samples without iron fillings but increased the arsenic level of the samples with iron fillings. The ferric hydroxide ion was formed on the surface of the iron filings.
Sodium arsenite (NaAsO2) reacts with ferric hydroxide (Fe(OH)3) and forms ferric arsenite (Fe(AsO2)3) on the surface of the iron filings. Also, ferrous hydroxide ion is formed within the solution and can react with sodium arsenite and ferrous arsenite (Fe(AsO2)2) can be thus formed. Based on the physicochemical Hall Effect, when a multi-atomic ion placed within a fluid passes through the external magnetic field, the bond between the ions is weakened and they are dissociated and form cations and anions. When charged particles are placed in a magnetic field a force is applied by the magnetic field to the particle, which is called “Lorentz force”. After the blank or control sample (sodium arsenite) passed through the magnetic field, these two ions were dissociated based on the Hall Effect and finally reacted with the ferric hydroxide formed on the metal spiral. When the ferric arsenite ion passed through the magnetic field, the ions were dissociated and were affected by Lorentz force. Arsenite has one negative charge and ferric has three positive charges and since ferric ion has higher charge, more force is applied to it and it attaches to the spring inside the column. Arsenite was also affected by Lorentz force and reacted with the ferric formed on the spring, but as the dissociation level of ferric arsenite ion was more than its adsorption, the arsenite level in the outlet column increased. Ferric arsenite is insoluble and was not measured by the device. When the solutions were passed through the column, arsenite separated from ferric and changed into a solution which could be measured.
Electrical Conductivity (EC)The results of this study demonstrated that the magnetic field increased EC. When the ions of a solution are exposed to the magnetic field, they are dissociated and the solution forms more ions and thus EC increases. Ma Wei showed that EC of the samples before and after the magnetic field were 0.22 and 0.27 S/m respectively.
Based on the results obtained from this study, it can be concluded that by applying a stronger magnetic field around the magnetic column, the arsenic in drinking water can be removed with high efficiency without adding any chemicals or adsorbents.

The main consumption of natural gas in Iran is in domestic heating mostly by domestic gas heaters. Domestic gas heaters may have considerable effect on pollutant and greenhouse gas production due to their high number. The aim of this research was to investigate stack exhaust pollutants of domestic gas heaters and its relation with ýair temperature and total gas consumption in the country.
LANCOM III, as a portable stack gas analyzer, was used for the measurement of gas pollutants produced by a domestic gas heater during the 5 cold months in 2012-2013. Meteorological and total gas consumption data were gathered from the Meteorological Office and National Iranian Gas Organization (NIGC), respectively.
Findings: The average amount of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitric oxide, and hydrocarbons emission were 10939.64, 0.091, 1.01, 6.99, and 172.996 ppm, respectively. A significant relation was observed between daily reduction of air temperature with increase in sulfur dioxide and hydrocarbons (P The increase in sulfur dioxide and hydrocarbons and decrease in carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide on cold days may be due to variation in gas characteristics. On cold days, the total gas consumption in the country is increased which results in changes in gas flow rate, velocity, and pressure in gas pipelines and gas quality (due to the transfer of sulfur sediments from pipelines to gas).

Heavy metals in surface soil which originate from different sources (e.g. traffic, industrial emission, weathering of building) can be accumulated in human body via inhalation and dermal absorption pathways. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate heavy-metal pollution profile of the soils and assess the soil quality in Zahedan.
Heavy metal concentrations in surface soils were investigated by a cross–sectional study carried out in early autumn 2013. Street dust samples were collected from different areas (5 regions) using a clean plastic dustpan and broom. At each sampling location, 5 subsamples were randomly taken and mixed together to obtain a composite soil sample. In total 50 samples were taken from all regions. The street dust samples were dried at room temperature prior to acid digestion and the concentrations of Zn, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb and Cu were measured using ICP-MS.
Results of analysis showed that in all studied areas; urban park, commercial area, high traffic, residential area and industrial area the concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn were 0.01± 0.06, 37.53 ± 6.96, 29.68 ± 10.25, 51.09 ± 8.53, 28.37±6.52 and 184.30 ± 25.94 mg/kg, respectively. The concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in all the regions studied (except residential area) exceed the corresponding background levels (i.e. suburb area).
This study showed that land use significantly increase heavy metal levels of urban soil in Zahedan. The highest concentrations of heavy metals were found in commercial and high traffic areas where the traffic rates are high. Therefore, decrease in traffic rate and improving public transportation may increase quality of urban soils.

Background and Recently, concerns regarding high concentrations of antibiotics in the environment have increased. Tetracycline is one of the most common antibiotics in human, agricultural, and veterinary treatments. This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of Fenton oxidation process for tetracycline removal from synthetic wastewater.
In this study, we assessed the effect of changes in initial antibiotic concentration (40-80 mg/l), molar ratio of [H2O2]/[Fe] (5-15), and contact time (5-30 minutes) on the efficiency of Fenton process. Tetracycline concentration was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In addition, biodegradability rate was evaluated through chemical oxygen demand (COD)tests. Data analysis was performed in R software based on central composite design model.
The optimal condition using Fenton process included initial concentration of 57 mg/l, molar ratio of [H2O2]/[Fe]= 11.27,and 30 min contact time which resulted in removal of 90.15% of tetracycline and 74.6% of COD.
Fenton treatment, which is a safe, cost-effective, and easy process could be used as an effective method to remove tetracycline from aqueous environments.

Physical and chemical quality of water is necessary for consumer’s acceptance, health promotion, and guarding of water distribution systems. The aim of this study was to determine the physical and chemical quality of drinking water in Qazvin.
Material and This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014-2015. During three seasons a total of 150 samples were collected from different points of water distribution. Then, water pH, turbidity, residual chlorine, EC (Electrical Conductivity), TDS (Total Dissolved Solis), nitrate, total hardness, alkalinity, and concentrations of Pb, Hg, Cd and Cr were measured. Heavy metals were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometerand other parameters were analyzed based on the Standard Method book. ANOVA was used for comparing the mean values between seasons.
The average values during three seasons were reported as the following: pH=7.47, turbidity=0.28±0.05 (NTU), residual chlorine =42±0.24 (mg/L), EC=623.46±48.99 (mS/cm), TDS = 499.52±49.92 (mg/L), nitrate =42.65±4.73 (mg/L), total hardness=148.33±1.4 (mg/L CaCo3), alkalinity=222.23±5.67 (mg/L CaCo3), and concentrations of Pb=0.008±0.0024 (mg/L), and Cr=0.031±0.002 (mg/L). The concentration of Hg and Cd were negligible in the total samples.
According to the obtained results, all the parameters were found to be within the permissible Iranian standards and the quality of Qazvin drinking water is safe for the consumers.

Background and 2, 4-dinitrophenol (2,4-DNP) is categorized as one of the priority pollutants that is used in pharmaceutical and chemical industries, pesticides, etc. In this study we aimed at investigating the biodegradation of 2,4-DNP by immobilized laccase on nano-porous silica beads.
An experimental study was conducted in which the enzyme was chemically cross-linked on the nano-porous silica beads. Temperature (40-60 ˚C), contact time (2-12 h), mediator concentration (1-3 mM), pH (4-6) and initial pollutant concentration (10-30 ppm) were considered. The high performance liquid chromatography was applied to measure the degradation of the pollutant.
The maximum removal of 2,4-DNP (91%) was achieved at T=50˚C, 2,4-DNP concentration of 10 ppm, mediator concentration of 1 mM, pH=5 and 12h contact time. ANOVA analysis showed that contact time and pH had the most and lowest effect on the process efficiency, respectively.
2,4-DNP was effectively degraded by laccase. The reusability and resistibility of the enzyme improved through immobilization. The immobilized laccase on nano-porous silica beads could be applied to remove a wide range of phenolic pollutants.

The present study was carried out to determine the amount and ionic characterization of TSP and PM10 aimed at identifying the potential emission sources of particulates in the ambient air of Tabriz.
TSP and PM10 samples were collected by two high volume samplers during September 2013 to August 2014. Water-soluble ions in particulate matter were extracted using ultrasonic method and were identified by ion chromatography. Using Stata12 software, linear regression analysis was performed between the ions to determination of the major ionic component of the particulates. In addition, in order to identify the potential emission sources of PM10, the rotation varimax model was used.
Total measured water-soluble ions in TSP and PM10 of the urban sampling site were 20.33±20.77 and 16.04±14.08 µg/m3, respectively. Among all detected ions, sulfate (8.69±5.79 µg/m3) and nitrate (8.47±7.9 µg/m3) were the dominant constituents followed by calcium and sodium.
The modeling results revealed that the soils of surrounding ground together with secondary PM and also resuspension of PM from polluted soil account for 80 percent of PM10 mass.

Backgrounds & Elimination of phenolic compounds which is considered as resistant pollutants to biological degradation has a great importance. This study aims to investigate the electrochemical oxidation process efficiency in removal of phenol compounds using a continuous and divided rector.
The catalytic anodes of Ti/SnO2-Sb and cathodes of iron were employed in a reactor divided into anolyte and catholyte chambers by a cellulosic separator. The influence of initial phenol concentration (14.12‒40.88 mg L‒1), retention time (32.23‒82.77 min), and current intensity (0.18‒0.42 A) on TPh removal efficiency, TPh residual concentration, and energy consumption was investigated using response surface methodology.
The results showed that TPh removal efficiency strongly depends on retention time, followed by current intensity and initial phenol concentration. The importance order of factors affecting on TPh residual concentration were distinguished as initial TPh concentration > retention time > current intensity. The energy consumption in terms of kWh m‒3 is mostly affected by retention time and then current intensity, and irrespective of initial phenol concentration. Under the optimal conditions, removal efficiency of 93.21%, residual concentration of 1 mg L‒1, and energy consumption of 34.40 kWh m‒3 is achieved.
Based on the obtained results, the electro-oxidation is a very efficient process for diminution of wastewater phenolic content, and is able to set the allowable limits to discharge to the environment.

Having an access to safe drinking water, which is considered as one of the health indicators by World Health Organization (WHO), has great importance for relevant authorities of different communities. Thus this study aimed to determine amounts of heavy metals and compare them with national and international standards.
In this cross sectional study, drinking water samples were taken from 41 main drinking water supplies in villages of Torbat-e Heydariyeh city according to the standard method and transferred to the laboratory. These samples were analyzed by mean of atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AA240FS).Finally, obtained data were analyzed using Arc-GIS (v. 10.3) and excel (v.2010) softwares.
The attained results revealed that the mean concentrations of metals including Cadmium, lead and Chromium were (0.59±0.17), (1.8±1.7) and (33.5±33.4) mg/l, respectively, in drinking water wells of rural regions of Torbat-e Heydariyeh . These amounts were in optimal ranges. While chromium concentrations were more than recommended permissible levels of WHO and national standards in 11 villages.
The mean concentrations of measured metals were lower than the recommended permissible levels by WHO in more cases of considered wells in villages of Torbat-e Heydarieh=. However, forregions in which the concentrations of heavy metals do not meet the standards, a comprehensive study is recommended to determine the heavy metal-related diseases in dry and wet seasons.

Backgrounds & Improper management of infectious waste cause environmental pollution and transmission of diseases through contact of susceptible groups with this type of waste. Due to mismanagement of infectious waste, development and improving the current management system are necessary. The aims of this study were to investigate the current status of infectious waste management in imam-khomeini hospital complex in Tehran and suggesting appropriate managerial solutions.
This descriptive cross-sectional study was implemented from March to June 2014 in imam-khomeini hospital complex, Tehran. Th required data were collected using a questionnaire approved by World Health Organization for hospital waste management through field survey. Data analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel and IBM SPSS softwares.
The average infectious waste generated in imam-khomeini hospital complex was 1380 kilogram per day. The average of waste produced in summer was significantly higher than those in spring (p According to the results, the high percentage of infectious waste indicates many problems in segregation stage. In order to solve this problem, implementation of training programs is highly recommended for hospital personnel to promote personnel awareness on proper waste segregation.

Introduction and Soil contamination by petroleum is mostly resulted from oil exploration, refining processes, leaking of oil products from storage tanks, leaking from pipelines due to pipe friction and decay, refinery wastewater discharge and agricultural irrigation with such materials. Sodium persulfate (Na2S2O8), which is a chemical oxidant, could be activated in the presence of ferrous (Fe2) and, leading to the treatment of a wide range of soil contaminants. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the removal of hydrocarbons from soil media using persulfate oxidation in the presence of mineral siderite.
Initially, oil-contaminated soil was prepared in the form of two separate samples, including silt-clay and sandy-loam soils, which were orderly spiked with 5000 mg fuel oil per kilogram of dry soil. Following that, the effects of various factors, such as different concentrations of persulfate (100-500 mmol/L) and siderite (0.1-0.5 g/L), pH (3-9) and temperature (20-60◦C) and the removal of petroleum hydrocarbon were assessed.
In this study, the optimum condition for degeneration of total petroleum hydrocarbon in silt-clay soils was reported, as follows: temperature: 60◦C, pH: 3, and persulfate/siderite molar ratio of 400 mmol/L to 4.0 g/L. Meanwhile, the optimum condition for the removal of hydrocarbon from sandy-loam soils was pH: 3, temperature: 60◦C and persulfate/siderite molar ratio of 300 mmol/L to 3.0 g/L.
According to the results of this study, the optimal amount of persulfate and siderite could be used to remove hydrocarbons from contaminated soils.

Background and Diazinon is one of the most widely used organophosphate pesticides classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “moderately hazardous” Class II. This work aimed at optimizing the electrocoagulation process in removal of diazinon from aqueous environments using response surface methodology.
In an experimental-laboratory study using the D-optimal method, the effects of independent variables including initial concentration of diazinon (10-100 mg/l), applied voltage (20-40 V), reaction time (10-60 min) and pH (3-10) were investigated on removal of diazinon in 30 runs. Process optimization was done by response surface methodology. Analysis of proposed model was also performed using analysis of variance.
Diazinon removal in proposed model was statistically significant at 95% confidence level. The model had insignificant lack-of-fit at 95% confidence level (P=0.614). Diazinon removal efficiency was dependent on initial concentration of diazinon, applied voltage, and reaction time. The removal efficiency of diazinon was 84.6% at optimum condition (voltage= 20 V and diazinon concentration= 100 mg/L).
Electrocoagulation process applying current experimental conditions was found to be efficient in removal of diazinon from aqueous solutions. Designing experiments by D-optimal method can optimize the removal of the process and prepare the best conditions for pollutant removal by reducing the number of experiments.

In this study, WQI was estimated using an Iranian software called IWQIS to assess drinking water quality in Ray Township distribution systems.
The assessment of 73 samples of drinking water during 2013 and the comparison of 18 physicochemical parameters with the standard Code of 1053 (Iran National Standard) was done.
The results showed that the concentration of 7 parameters is out of normal range in special percentage of the samples. Those parameters are as follow: total hardness (31.5%), Mg (46.6%), nitrate (50.68%), Na (45.2%), F (42.46%), Cl (2.7%), Sulfate (28.76%) of samples. The medium concentration of theses parameters was: total hardness (375 mg/L), Mg (32 mg/L), Nitrate (47.43 mg/L), Na (187 mg/L), F (0.5 mg/L), Cl (169 mg/L), and Sulfate (263 mg/L). It is estimated that 5.6% of the population of this township are highly exposed to nitrate, 79.1% to fluoride and 13.5% are exposed to sodium. The average WQI in Rey Township in a good spectrum is 71.22.
17 samples (23.2%) were assessed in excellent spectrum, 54 samples (74%) in good and 1 sample (1.4%) in very poor spectrum and 1 sample in unsuitable condition were assessed. No sample was assessed in poor situation. The samples of the autumn showed the worst quality.

Chemical hair color are one of the most widely used cosmetics. The presence of heavy metals in these products can affect the health of consumers. Unlike other cosmetics, no study has been conducted on the heavy metal levels in the synthetic chemical hair colors. This study determined the concentration of heavy metals in these products and the risk assessment of non-carcinogenic effects by these elements were calculated.
Material and 32 samples of chemical hair color from eight brands (3 local and 5 imported ones) and four most used colors were collected from the markets in Tehran. The concentration of cadmium, lead, and barium was determined using ICP-MS. The information required to assess exposure risk was gathered through a questionnaire distributed among citizens of Tehran. The assessment of exposure was conducted using Mont Carlo method and non-carcinogenic risk was determined using the index of Hazard Quotient. .
Barium concentration measured was 0.86 mg/kg and concentrations of Cadmium and Lead were 0.45 and 185.34 µg/kg respectively. Among the elements, Pb with Hazard Quotient equals to 7.46×10-4 had the most risk and cadmium with Hazard Quotient equals to 3.57×10-5 had the lowest risk. Moreover, the Iranian brand and blond had the highest risk among the samples.
Based on the index of Hazard Quotient, heavy metals in the studied samples had no risk for consumers of these products.