فهرست مطالب مسعود یو نسیان

Microplastics refer to plastic particles and fragments smaller than 5 millimeters in various forms, derived from the breakdown of larger plastics or initially introduced into the environment from the primary constituent particles of plastic. The exact date of the emergence of microplastics in the environment is not precisely known, but it certainly predates the naming of these particles (2004). These particles can enter the bodies of living organisms, including humans, primarily through ingestion and inhalation. Their effects on the body depend on their size, chemical composition, and the composition of substances that later absorb these particles. In this article, we will first briefly examine the classification of these particles in terms of chemical composition and their origins, and then review some evidence of their presence in biological tissues and fluids. Given the increasing production and use of plastics in human life and the fact that most microplastics in nature derive from the breakdown of larger plastics, sometimes several years after their disposal, it is expected that even if plastic production decreases or stops, we will continue to see an increase in their presence in nature for years and decades, leading to human exposure to these compounds (whose effects and consequences of this exposure are not yet fully understood).

Climate change is a long-term climate variations caused by human activities that alters the composition of the global atmosphere. Climate change is one of the biggest threats to health. Iran's health system should respond to climate change-related health threats. The purpose of this study was to identify the challenges and solutions to build a climate resilient health system for Iran.

This qualitative study was conducted using interpretive phenomenology method and semi-structured interviews with 32 policy makers, managers, experts and researchers from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of agriculture, Ministry of roads and city planning, Environmental protection organization, National meteorological organization, Atomic energy organization, Universities, Associations, and Research institutes. Participants were selected through purposeful and snowball sampling methods. Framework analysis method was used to analyze the data.

Eighty four challenges to the resilience of Iran's health system against climate change were identified, which were grouped into two categories of factors inside the health system, (i.e., governance and leadership; financing; health workforce; facilities, equipment and medicines; health information system; and health services delivery) and factors outside the health system (i.e., political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors). Overall, 91 solutions were identified to solve these challenges and to strengthen Iran's climate resilient health system.

Iran's health system is facing several barriers to be climate resilient. Actions at the macro, meso and micro levels, inside and outside the health system should be carried out to increase the adaptability and resilience of the Iranian health care facilities.

According to previous reports, treatment of infertile women who are candidates for in vitro fertilization (IVF), about 15% of the oocytes remains immature. Therefore, finding an efficient approach to make these types of oocytes usable in the clinic, especially in women with limited oocytes, is necessary. One of these approaches is the laboratory culture of immature oocytes in such a way that the expression of genes involved in cytoplasmic maturation increases.

Forty-eight infertile women candidates for IVF donated their immature oocytes at the time of oocyte retrieval. The obtained immature oocytes were randomly divided into two groups: the control group without in-Vitro culture and the intervention group in the form of 24-hour culture. The total oocytes of both groups (ninety-five immature oocytes) were pooled separately and analyzed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR).

The level of expression of MT-ATP6 and BMP15 genes in the intervention group has a significant increase compared to the control group, with a fold change of 7.867± 3.12 and 6.327 ± 0.78, respectively (P<0.001). Furthermore, according to the morphological changes, 54% of the immature oocytes in the intervention group had resumed meiosis.

Increasing the expression of two cytoplasmic maturation genes, MT-ATP6 and BMP15 can cause the resumption of meiosis in immature oocytes. Therefore, this strategy can be promising in women with low eggs.

 Outsourcing services to the private sector can be a step towards achieving the goals of community health promotion, job creation, better access to health services, and improving the quality of health services. In this regard, health service offices were established in Tehran to improve the health status of food preparation, distribution and sale centers and increase food safety based on government approval. This study aimed to evaluate the roles of health services offices on environmental health indicators. 

 In this descriptive-comparative study, nine health service offices supervised by Tehran University of Medical Sciences (located in South Tehran Health Center, Eslamshahr city, and Shahr-e Rey) were surveyed. Seven environmental health indicators measured in the years before the establishment of these Health Service Offices (2015-2017) were compared with those obtained after their establishment (2018-2019). The indicators data were analyzed using Excel, SPSS software, and statistical tests.

 The result showed no significant difference in public places and centers for food preparation and distribution offenders, public places with health criteria, percentage of employees with a health training certificate, health care, and percentage of inspection coverage before and after establishment of health service offices (p >0.05). However, the relationship between the food preparation indicators and distribution centers with health criteria and public places and closed food preparation and distribution centers were significant (p > 0.05).

 This study is one of the first researches conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of health services offices on health-safety indicators in Iran. Therefore, more comprehensive monitoring and studies should be done to evaluate these offices' performance quality and their related cost-benefit analysis.

In assessing the risk of community related poisonings due to insecticide use a practical and effective tool is needed to evaluate insecticides Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the reliability and validity of exposure patterns to insecticides.

In this study, after performing validity, translation of the final version of the questionnaire was prepared based on the agreement of experts in accordance with the study population. In the next step, the reliability validity of the study was investigated. Finally, the questionnaire reliability was evaluated by test-retest method at a 14-day interval with the participation of 40 resident of Tehran city.

 The results of R-CVI and C-CVI were evaluated as good for all of items (between 0.91 and 0.97). The total CVI index for the whole questionnaire ranged from 0.75 to 1 in terms of proportion and transparency. On the other hand, the total coefficient of kappa for reliability of the questionnaire was obtained between 0.89 and 1.

Considering the acceptable validity and reliability level of the Persian version, this questionnaire is a valid tool and can be applied to assess the risk of insecticide use and its associated injuries in the Iranian population.

Understanding the factors contributing to the mortality of COVID-19 patients can provide comprehensive information for preventive decisions and public health, and will help in better management of the epidemic. In this regard, the present study was conducted with the aim of identifying and introducing risk factors affecting the mortality of COVID-19 patients by modifiable and non-modifiable factors.

In this review study, according to the objectives of the study, related papers on risk factors affecting the mortality of COVID-19 patients were searched and collected in the international databases of Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, PubMed, and Google scholar. Then the results were extracted and reported by modifiable and non-modifiable factors.

The results showed that almost all studies conducted in this field address non-modifiable risk factors such as age, sex, and underlying diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, respiratory diseases, cancer, self-diseases, autoimmune, and neurological diseases. Although few studies have been conducted on modifiable risk factors, lack of early admission or long waiting for hospital admission, occupancy of hospital beds and ICUs, as well as lack of equipment in hospitals were associated with increased mortality in these studies.

Regarding the situation of different countries in this epidemic, improving the control of the COVID-19 epidemic and reduce the mortality rate is possible by considering modifiable factors and taking appropriate measures. According to the results of studies, allocating sufficient financial, personnel and equipment resources can be effective in reducing COVID-19 mortality. However, controlling the COVID-19 epidemic to reduce morbidity and mortality as well as its economic and social consequences is possible by integrated management in the country. Also, using the experiences and guidance of the World Health Organization and successful countries, and stability in measures with a comprehensive approach should be considered.

The Covid-19 epidemic is a great threat to human health. Countries have taken several measures to control the disease, as well as dealing with infodemics. In a situation where the infodemics makes it difficult to distinguish correct and scientific information from incorrect ones, the preparation of evidence-based content has been an effective measure, recommended by World Health Organization.In this regard, the school of Public Health at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, in collaboration with the Iran National Institute of Health Research formed a specialized committee for public education to provide evidence-based answers to public questions. The achievements of this collective efforts were providing useful and practical educational content based on the most credible evidence. In this editorial, we will look at the actions taken and the achievements of this experience.

In this study, we aimed to assess Iran’s position and trends for environmental health status among the countries of “Iran’s perspective document in 1404” according to the indicators used in Environmental Performance Index (EPI) report in 2018.

The score of indicators in environmental health area; air quality (including household solid fuels, exposure to PM2.5, and PM2.5 exceedance), water and sanitation (including drinking water and sanitation) and heavy metals (including lead) were extracted for all studied countries as well as for the last and baseline (generally ten years prior to last report) years from EPI 2018 database. According to EPI scores, the performance of the studied countries in each indicator was ranked. The percent change in the score of each indicator from baseline to current year was calculated and compared with the mean percent change for all studied countries.

Iran ranked 7th regarding air quality in 2016. Also, it ranked 6th, 8th, and 9th in terms of household solid fuels, exposure to PM2.5, and PM2.5 exceedance, respectively. The EPI score for Iran regarding water and sanitation was 54.4 in 2005 and 58.74 in 2016 (percent change=7.98%). Iran ranked 21st in 2005 regarding lead exposure index. Although this index showed a growth of 100% in 2016, which is very desirable compared to the average growth of all countries (34.47%), but only leads to one step up in the ranking of Iran and was ranked 20th in comparison with other countries.

Totally, according to EPI 2018, Iran ranked 6th in the field of environmental health issues among 23 countries of “Iran’s perspective document in 1404”. However, there is uncertainty in the accuracy of the EPI raw data used for calculating index scores. Hence, caution should be exercised in their interpretation.

Regular use of household cleaning products and cosmetics can result in adverse consequences for human health. Therefore, the knowledge of consumption pattern of these products can help to evaluate the effects and finally control the consequences of their inappropriate application. As there is not an appropriate tool for evaluating public use-pattern for these products in Iran, we studied the reliability and validity of a questionnaire designed for the use-patterns of these products.

In the present study, a questionnaire, which was previously applied in similar studies for this purpose, was first translated to Persian. Then, some changes were made in the questionnaire according to the studied population. In the next step, the assessment of both content validity and face validity of the instrument was performed. Finally, the questionnaire reliability was studied in two test-retest steps at a 14-day interval with 40 subjects older than 14 years old being resident in Tehran city.

Total Content Validity Index (CVI) of this questionnaire ranged 0.66-1 for all question items. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.814. The correlation assessment of each question item based on the total correlation score showed that all questionnaire items had a direct and strong correlation with the total instrument score.

Given the acceptable validity and reliability obtained for the questionnaire in Persian in this study, it can be used in those investigations that evaluate use patterns or asses the exposure risks to chemical pollutants from cosmetic products or detergents.

Surface water and underground water quality in countries that facing dehydration have increased the interest of the community to use Household Water Treatment devices. The aim of this study was the evaluation of the quality of drinking water of Household Water Treatment devices and general distribution network in Garmsar, which is under the control of the water safety plan.

A descriptive cross-sectional study administered in 6 regions and 41 cities of Garmsar city in spring and summer seasons in 2018. Chemical tests performed according to the standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, general measurements were performed using the multi-tube fermentation method and counting of heterotrophic bacteria by pour plate method. The results analyzed by using Excel and SPSS software.

The average values during two seasons were reported as: EC= 1507 (μS/cm), TDS= 786.8 (mg/L), F= 0.048 (mg/L), residual free chlorine= 0.67 (mg/L), pH=7.9, total coliform= 0.16 (MPN/100 mL), fecal coliform= 0.14 (MPN/100 mL) and HPC= 112 (CFU/mL). No significant difference found between the chemical and microbial parameters in the general distribution network and the output of the Household Water Treatment devices during the two seasons.

Household water treatment devices did not affect the microbial burden but caused a change in the amounts of some chemical parameters. Drinking water from the distribution network, with the proper application of the water safety plan, is of good quality.

Because of human exposure to various environmental risk factors during the lifetime, the actual exposure estimation has been considered as one of the most important challenges for researchers and decision makers. Considering the contribution of environmental risk factors in the burden of diseases, this study aimed to provide new approaches in exposure assessment filed based on the latest studies carried out in the world. In this review article, according to the objectives of the study, literature related to new approaches in exposure assessment was identified through electronic searching in Scopus, PubMed and web of Science databases. After introducing new approaches, the most important sources of errors and limitations were also examined to reduce uncertainties of exposure estimation in these studies. The results of the study showed that comprehensive exposure assessment using new approaches in personalized exposure assessment, targeted and non-targeted analytical methods, -omics technologies, novel exposure matrices and computational models presented in this study can help researchers to identify the effective factors in development and increase assessor’s knowledge of mechanisms, exposure pathways and biological responses. The use of new exposure assessment approaches provides new opportunity for researchers to better understand the biological processes in the development of diseases and estimate the actual human exposure to environmental risk factors.

Iodized salt is one of the most important sources iodine in Iran. Former studies show that the iodine levels were insufficient both in distribution and consumption levels. The aim of this descriptive-analytical sectional study was to investigate the iodine content in table salts used by families covered by health services of Tehran University of Medical Sciences during 2017. 315 families from SIB (Integrated Health System) with random sampling method were studied. A questionnaire was filled out through interviews and salt samples were taken for analysis. The iodine in all samples was measured by iodine-meter kits and one third of the samples were also measured by titration. The average iodized salt consumed by the families was 18.53 µg/g iodine, which is less than the national standard. Iodine amount in %12 of the samples was not in compliance with WHO standards. In %59 of the samples, there was less iodine amount than the previous standard level set by the Iranian Ministry of Health (20-55 µg/g iodine). None of the samples were compatible with the new standards set by the Iranian Ministry of Health (30-60 µg/g iodine). it was found that there is no meaningful relation between the variables such as Material, type of salt container and the amounts of iodine (p>0.05). Families are not aware of the effects of iodine deficiency.

Antibiotics are a group of emerging contaminants in the aquatic environment. Antibiotic residues threaten the human health and ecosystem in the low concentrations found in the environment. Hence, the present work has been conducted to investigate the occurrence and removal efficiency of most prescribed antibiotics including amoxicillin, penicillin, cefixime, cephalexin, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin and azithromycin detected in two urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Tehran. The present work is an applied research based on USEPA method no. 1694, to investigate pharmaceuticals residues in water by HPLC/MS/MS in year 2016. The differences between target antibiotics residues were investigated statistically. After the calculation of the removal efficiencies, the normality of the data was assessed. Then, parametric and non-parametric tests were used to compare the removal efficiencies in both WWTPs. There was not a significant difference between the influent and effluent concentrations of cefixime and azithromycin (in Ekbatan WWTP) and cefixime (in southern Tehran WWTP). There is a significant difference between the removal efficiencies of cephalexin (p=0.005) and erythromycin (p=0.002) in two WWTPs. The Highest median removal efficiencies were observed for cephalexin 94.41 and 99.47 in Ekbatan WWTP and southern Tehran WWTP, respectively. In addition to the type of treatment processes, it is physicochemical properties of the selected compound has a significant influence on removal efficiencies.

The coastal area of ​​Ramsar in northern of Iran located in the province of Mazandaran has been known as the highest levels of natural radiation background in the world. The background radiation is mainly due to the presence of radioactive isotopes of the radium element and its decay products, which is brought to the surface by hot springs. In this study, the indoor gamma dose rate in Ramsar was directly measured and the public annual effective dose due to indoor gamma radiation was calculated. To measure the gamma dose rate, a portable gamma spectrometer with sodium iodide detector (Na I) was used. 100 houses are randomly selected and the measurements were carried out at one meter height above the ground surface in each place, which was mostly occupied by people in each house. The public annual effective dose due to indoor gamma exposure was calculated. The maximum, minimum, and average dose rates were 222 nSv h-1, 44 nSv h-1 and 94 nSv h-1, respectively. The highest, lowest, and average public annual effective dose of Ramsar residents due to indoor gamma exposure were 1.55, 0.31 and 0.66 mSv, respectively. The results of this study indicate that average of the public annual effective dose of Ramsar people due to indoor gamma exposure is equal to 0.66 mSv and it is approximately 1.6 times greater than the worldwide average exposure to indoor gamma radiation reported by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (0.41 mSv). In addition, it is not significantly different from the other reported results (average of 0.7 mSv) for the homes in normal radiation background areas in Ramsar.

Food handlers have an important role in food contamination. This study determined validity and reliability of the world health organization questionnaires about five essential principles of food safety in food handlers for assessment of their knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP).
For standardization, these steps were performed: 1) Getting permission of the world health organization 2) Translating the questionnaire twice in Persian and again in English 3) using expert ideas and determination of inter rated agreement (IRA), relevancy and clarity of each question and the tool as a whole 4) measuring Reliability with Cronbach’s alpha, and repeatability was measured with intra-cluster correlation through repeated test-piloting after 1 month.
Using a conservative approach, the IRA for the overall relevancy and clarity of the tools were 81%, 90% and 90%, and 95%, 95%, 97.5% respectively. The overall Cronbach’s alpha for KAP were 70%, 73%, 99% respectively and the intra-cluster correlation (ICC) that was obtained through comparing the overall score of the questionnaire in the pre-test and test phase were 0.69%, 0.75%, 0.99% respectively.
These new tools have good reliability and validity and they have very important, simple and clear principles of food safety so researchers, managers and food handlers can use them.

Because of the current population policies adopted in Iran followed by increasing the number of births, this study aimed to investigate the current situation of safe delivery and proposed a model based on clinical governance.
This study is a combinatorial-exploratory research (Mixed Method) conducted in four hospitals in Qazvin and Semnan provinces including two stages in 2014. The first stage was the assessment of current situation; clarifying safe delivery, reviewing literatures, providing two checklists, assessment of current situation based on assessment of continuous quality improvement and assurance of the quality and the second stage was presenting the model including codification of safe delivery model in seven axes of clinical governance, the approval of the model on the panel using nominal group technique.
In quality assurance, hospital (4) and hospital (2) obtained the maximum score (1431) and minimum score (1237) respectively. All hospitals in continuous quality assessment, admission in the intensive care unit (P In order to improve the quality of Maternity ward, hospital's accreditation also should be based on the principles of clinical governance. In addition to evaluations based on quality assurance and annual accreditation, assessment using continuous quality improvement methods based on clinical governance is essential. The proposed model includes seven axes of clinical governance.

The collection of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) is a noninvasive, safe and simple technique to obtain direct samples from lung and use for estimation of the effects of air pollution on human subjects. EBC contains several compounds including simple ions, hydrogen peroxide, proteins, cytokines, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), creatine, Electrolytes, trace elements and toxic metals that are diluted by water vapor. The objective of this study was to determine biomarker IL-6 in exhaled breath condensate using an exhaled breath condensate collector.
The collector was designed and built and was used for collection and condensation of exhaled breath. EBC was taken from 36 young participants. Each person was asked to breathe for 10-15 min and the condensate was kept in a vial. The samples of exhaled breath were cooled down to -20 °C using the collector. The exhaled breath was converted to the solid/liquid mixture and then, the biomarker IL-6 was measured with ELISA (Enzyme -linked immunosorbent assay) method using HS600B R&D Kit.
The mean concentration of IL-6 was 1.08 pg/mL in collected samples. The standard deviation of IL-6 concentration was 0.47. Moreover, the average volume of collected EBC was 2.3 mL, ranged between 0.3 and 3.5 mL.
The results of this study showed that the volume of the exhaled breath condensate was comparable with similar commercial devices. The average concentration of interlukin-6 was similar to the concentrations reported by other studies. Based on the findings, this equipment can be used by researchers as a suitable device for measurement of IL-6 in exhaled breath condensate.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of organic pollutants that are mostly generated during the incomplete combustion. The main objective of this study was to characterize potential sources of PAHs in Tehran.
Samples of PM10 were collected at 10 monitoring stations belonging to Tehran Air Quality Control Company (AQCC) and transferred to laboratory for analysis. Besides, a SKC Flite 2 Air Sampling Pump (SKC, USA) equipped with a sampling head and PM10 size-selective inlet was used at four stations to compare the results obtained by collecting AQCC monitors (AQCCMs) tapes with the standard sampling procedures for assessing the interchangeability of two field sampling methods. The principal component analysis (PCA) and diagnostic ratios were applied to identify emission sources and source contribution.
The average diagnostic ratios of phenanthrene (Phe)/ (Phe橻憭ꜞ (Ant)), benzo(a)anthracene (BaA)/ (BaA爚 (Chry)), fluorantene(Flu)/ (FluꜪ� (Py)), and indeno(1,2,3cd) pyrene (IcP)/(IcP淩(ghi)perylene (BghiP)) in samples were 0.79, 0.52, 0.43 and 0.38, respectively. These ratios showed that the combustion, especially fossil fuels and motor vehicles, was the main sources of PAHs emission in Tehran. The results of PCA analysis also indicated that 49, 29 and 22% of PAHs sources in Tehran atmosphere were attributed to gasoline-driven vehicles, diesel vehicles and other sources, respectively.
According to the results, the combustion, especially fossil fuel and motor vehicle, was the main sources of PAHs emission in Tehran.

The aim of present study was to assess environmental inequality in long-term exposure to outdoor air pollution in 22 districts of Tehran in 2012.
The present study is an ecological study and concentration index was used for assessment of inequality. In this study the amounts of pollutant concentrations (PM10, NO2, SO2) obtained were based on land use regression (LUR) for exposure assessment. Variables that their effects have been studied on the distribution of exposure to pollutants included: education level, employment status and car ownership, which were obtained from census demographic and Tehran Municipality's dataset.
The concentration index for PM10 in the case of illiteracy, people with higher education and private car owners was 0.059 (0.004-0.113), -0.056 (-0.001- -0.110) and -0.079 (-0.031- -0.127), respectively. These relationships were statistically significant. Concentration index for PM10 was 0.016 for the workers population, which was not statistically significant. For NO2 and SO2, no inequality was found in illiterate people, people with higher education, employees and car owners.
This study showed that there was significant inequality in terms of exposure to PM10 between different regions of Tehran in the illiterate, people with higher education and car owners. Considering these subgroups of population can be helpful in policy-making process.

The performance of in-vessel composting process, as one of the most effective methods of oily sludge treatment, depends on factors such as nutrients and temperature. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate the trend of changes of these factors. The aim of the present study was to investigate the trend of changes of organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and temperature during the composting of bottom sludge of crude oil storage tanks.
The sludge was mixed with the immature compost at the various ratios of sludge to compost including 1:2, 1:4, 1:6, 1:8, and 1:10 with the initial C/N/P of 100/5/1 and then was composted for a period of 10 weeks. The process of mixing and moisture adjustment of the mixtures was done 3 times a day during the composting period. Sampling and analysis were performed every week for organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus and every day for temperature.
The research indicated that the concentrations of organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus were decreased sharply during the first weeks of the process and then they were decreased gently. At the final stage of the composting, the ratios of C/N and C/P increased from 20:1 and 100:1 to 26:1 and 166:1, respectively. In addition, the temperature of the reactors was kept in the mesophilic range during the process period.
The similar trend of decrease of organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in the composting reactors is an indication of decreasing the activity of the microorganisms involved in petroleum hydrocarbons degradation.

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.

The unauthorized use of synthetic dyes in food has raised health concerns. Determining the reasons of unauthorized use of them can facilitate management and control actions and it also can be important step to protect the health of the community. A questionnaire on the Analytic Hierarchy Process was used to collect views of 138 persons of food staff in Kerman and health experts about the reasons for unauthorized use of artificial colors. Both health experts and staff believed that the most important reason of unauthorized use of artificial colors is economic criteria and the second criterion is awareness. Although cheaper synthetic dyes and low public awareness were selected by experts as the most important sub-criteria, client friendly and low awareness of food staff were selected by food staff. Economy and low awareness are the most important criteria for the unauthorized use of synthetic dyes, so increasing public and food staff awareness can be useful to decline unauthorized use of synthetic dyes. Effective inspection and dealing decisively with offenders, food labeling and controlled distribution of synthetic dyes also can help management of health problems.

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.

Swimming is one of the most popular sport fields and entertainments that has considerable benefits for human health, but on the other hand microbial water contamination in swimming pools through transmission and spread of infectious diseases is a significant threat against public health. In this study, microbial water quality of all public swimming pools in Tehran were assessed and effective factors on microbial water quality were analyzed.
This cross-sectional study with the analytical approach was performed in 2013. The whole public swimming pools in Tehran were inspected and water samples were taken for measurement of microbial indicators including thermotolerant coliforms, heterotrophic plate count (HPC), and physicochemical parameters affecting the microbial water quality including turbidity, free residual chlorine and pH and an integrated swimming pool microbial water quality index were used to describe the overall situation. Operational parameters with probable effects on microbial water quality were checked through inspection using a checklist.
The assessment of the swimming pool microbial water quality indicated that the compliance rates of thermotolerant coliforms and HPC were 91.4 and 84.5%, respectively. Compliance rates of free residual chlorine, turbidity, Ph, and temperature were also obtained to be 82.7, 45.5, 85.6, and 65.4% respectively. Based on the integrated swimming pool microbial water quality index, the proportions of swimming pools with excellent and good microbial water quality were 39.6 and 50.4% respectively and the others had not proper microbial water quality. The parameters of water free residual chlorine and turbidity, swimmer density, water recirculation period, dilution amount, cleaning, usage rates of shower and disinfection basin and operation of water treatment systems had significant effects on the microbial indicators (P The study showed that the overall microbial water quality status of public swimming pools in Tehran was acceptable and analysis of the results determined the most efficient interventions for improvement of the microbial water quality of the pools.