فهرست مطالب sakine shekoohiyan

The Goharzamin iron mine in Sirjan has the largest iron ore reserves in the Gol Gohar area. This study aimed to assess the life cycle of iron ore extraction from this mine using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method due to the extensive activities in the area and the lack of comprehensive studies.

  The LCA evaluated the impacts of iron ore extraction from the Goharzamin mine on human health, ecosystem quality, and resource depletion. The boundary system included the drilling and blasting processes. Following the cradle-to-gate model and an attributional approach, the production of 1 ton of iron ore was considered a functional unit. Impact and damage assessment were conducted using SimaPro software and the ReCiPE method at mid and end-point levels.

The findings revealed that transportation by trucks with a capacity exceeding 20 tons accounted for the highest environmental burden in all categories (51.1%), particularly in overburden removal. The detrimental impacts of transportation on ionizing radiation (human health), land use, and freshwater eutrophication potentials (ecosystem quality) exceeded 95%. Carbon-14 emissions, agricultural land occupation, and BOD5 and COD releases resulting from iron ore extraction were identified as the key pollutants in these impact categories. The average damage to human health, ecosystem quality, and resource depletion was found to be 89.8%, 5.5%, and 4.6%, respectively.

To mitigate the negative impacts of transportation, it is advisable to enhance environmental sustainability by utilizing trucks that adhere to Euro 5 standards or higher, as well as exploring the use of renewable energies.

Road dust pollution containing trace elements like antimony (Sb), lanthanum (La), lithium (Li), molybdenum (Mo), and vanadium (V) has been relatively overlooked. Despite their toxicity and established reference doses, there has been limited research on these elements. This study aims to assess the levels of these elements in the road dust of southern Tehran, an area with high pollution potential, and evaluate the associated health risks.

In this cross-sectional descriptive study, road dust samples were collected from the surfaces of roads in southern Tehran during a dry period. The samples were digested with acid, and the concentrations of Sb, La, Li, Mo, and V were determined using ICP-OES. Enrichment factor (EF), pollution index (PI), and Nemerow Integrated Pollution Index (NIPI) were calculated based on the concentration data. Non-carcinogenic risk was assessed through Monte Carlo simulation.

The average concentrations of Sb, La, Li, Mo, and V were 2.01, 14.68, 9.05, 7.33, and 58.28 μg/g, respectively. The highest and lowest EF values were recorded for Sb and Li, respectively. NIPI values ranged from 2.16 to 44.58. The non-carcinogenic risk values of Sb, Li, Mo, and V for both adult and child age groups, and La for adults, were below 1, except for the risk of La in children, which was deemed unacceptable.

The findings of this study highlight significant levels of toxic trace elements in road dust in southern Tehran, indicating high pollution levels. Moreover, the current levels of La may present an unacceptable non-carcinogenic risk to children. Hence, greater attention towards this type of pollution is imperative, necessitating identification and control of its sources.

 The development of the automobile industry has caused various pollutants to enter the environment, one of which is fluoride. Therefore, this study aims to improve the fluoride removal from wastewater pre-paint units of the automotive industry to achieve discharge standards to surface waters.

 The study is descriptive and on an applied scale, which has been carried out to compare the efficiency of the chemical coagulation process using lime and alum, as well as the electrocoagulation process using aluminum anodes in the presence of lime to remove fluoride.

 The results of real wastewater characteristics showed that the pH of wastewater is in the range of 6.1 to 6.3, and its fluoride concentration is in the range of 45 to 55 mg/L. The results of the experiments show that in the most optimal possible state in the chemical coagulation process, it is possible to achieve fluoride removal efficiency in the range of 76 to 81 percent. However, the removal efficiency in the electrocoagulation process using an aluminum anode at a concentration of 5 mol/L of calcium ions, and current density of 20 A/m2 after reaction time of min 20 to 99% can also be achieved.

 Considering the high fluoride removal rate (more than 99%) in the electrocoagulation process in the presence of calcium ions, this process can be introduced as an efficient technology for fluoride removal.

 Given the concern about the presence of microplastics in the air and settled dust, and the lack of a standard approach for their detection, it is necessary to investigate the methods and techniques used to study this type of pollution in Iran. Therefore, this study aimed to systematically review the methods and techniques used for sampling, quantification, and characterization of microplastics in the air and settled dust in indoor and outdoor environments in Iran.

 In this systematic review, the keywords Microplastic*, Air*, Atmosphere*, Dust, Indoor, Outdoor, Iran, and their corresponding Persian equivalents were searched until Dec 1, 2023, in Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Magiran, and SID databases. Obtained articles from the databases were analyzed in order to find the eligible ones.

 Overall, 175 articles were found in the initial search, and after removing the duplicates and nonrelevant, 13 eligible articles were included in the study. In most of the studies, the samples were digested with H2O2, and the microplastics were mainly analyzed using a variety of microscopes and µRaman spectroscopy. The abundance of microplastics in the indoor environment was much higher than in the outdoor environment.

 The results of this study showed that there is the required equipment for the sampling and analysis of microplastics in air and settled dust in Iran, and these pollutants have been detected in both indoor and outdoor environments.

Heavy metals in water can pose risks to human health. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor and measure metals to ensure the health of consumers.

This study aimed to measure heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, cadmium, chromium, zinc, and mercury in water resources and urban water distribution networks in spring and summer of 2021 in Maragheh city. Accordingly, 25 samples were taken to investigate the presence of heavy metals. The presence of these metals in water sources was investigated using qualitative maps and finally, by evaluating the health risk caused by the presence of these metals, their effect on the health of consumers has been studied.

Examining the concentration of metals in water resources upstream of the dam shows a relatively high concentration of metals, especially arsenic (13.2 µg/L). Despite this, the amount of arsenic after the water treatment plant and in the distribution network is reduced to an insignificant level. On the other hand, the results show that the amount of zinc metal in the network is higher than in the reservoir of the dam, and its concentration in the dam is equal to zero and in the network, it reaches the highest value of 578 µg/L. Finally, the health risk assessment shows that the calculated THI values for all samples vary between 0.01 and 0.99.

Based on the calculated health risk, there is no threat to the health of consumers regarding heavy metals in Maragheh drinking water. Also, these results double the necessity of additional studies regarding the leakage of zinc metal from the pipes and accessories of the city's drinking water distribution network in the future.

Vacuum Ultraviolet (VUV)-based advanced oxidation is a new category of advanced purification processes, so this study aimed to compare the efficiency of VUV and Ultraviolet-C (UVC) processes in combination with H2O2 and PMS in degrading Remdesivir.

The photoreactor was investigated with VUV and UVC lamps in combination with H2O2 and PMS for Remdesivir degradation. Also, the effect of variables such as solution pH, H2O2 dose, Remdesivir concentration, the presence of radical scavengers and anions, as well as hydraulic retention time was considered in the continuous process of Remdesivir removal.

The findings showed that the optimal pH in the processes of VUV, UVC, and their derivatives was equal to 7. By adding 1 mM of PMS and H2O2 to the VUV process, the degradation efficiency of Remdesivir was increased from 92.2 ± 0.4% to 98.3 ±2.1% and 100 ± 0.3%, respectively, after 30 min. Also, in the UVC process combined with H2O2 and PMS, the degradation efficiency reached 77.8 ± 1.5 and 85.2 ± 1.3% after 40 min, respectively. The degradation kinetics in the examined processes were as follows: VUV/H2O2 > VUV/PMS > VUV > UVC/H2O2 > UVC/PMS > UVC. The hydroxyl radical was the main reactive oxygen species that led to the decomposition of Remdesivir. The continuous operation of VUV/H2O2 showed that the removal efficiency of Remdesivir reached 94.7 ±0.8% after 40 min.

Considering the high rate of Remdesivir degradation by adding H2O2, the VUV/H2O2 process can be introduced as an efficient technology for the removal of antiviral drugs.

Objective:

 Infertility is affected by various factors. The hookah use can aggravate this problem. This study aims to determine the effect of hookah use on male infertility.

Methods :

This is a cross-sectional study on 40 men with hookah use and 40 non-users who referred to Imam Reza Hospital in Bandar Abbas, Iran in 2019. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire, and semen parameters were analyzed. Independent t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Chi-square test were used to assess the relationship of hookah use with infertility-related parameters in abnormal and normal sperms of the two groups.

Results :

There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of demographic parameters; hookah use was more in young and employed men with academic education. Means of sperm count,  motile sperm, sperms with progressive sperm motility, inactive sperms with progressive motility, and normal-shape sperms in the hookah users were 22±12, 35±10, 6±3, 21±6, 34±8 %, respectively, which were significantly lower than in non-users.

Conclusion:

 Given the adverse effects of hookah use on male fertility, health managers should increase the awareness of people about its effects.

Among the emerging contaminants, microplastics threaten public health. This study aimed to determine microplastic and mesoplastics in soil of residential areas adjacent to Tehran Landfill and assess its ecological risk.

 The present descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 20 shallow and deep soil samples from residential areas near the Tehran landfill in July 2021. The microplastics were floated in NaCl and ZnCl2 solutions, and the mesoplastics were separated manually. The identification of physical and chemical properties of polymers was performed by stereomicroscope and FTIR analysis, respectively.

 The average amount of micro-plastics in shallow and deep soils estimated 76±34.98 and 24.7±19.79 particles/kgsoil, respectively. The average amount of mesoplastics obtained 5.25±2.91 and 3.55±1.09 particles/kgsoil, in shallow and deep soils, respectively. Paired-samples T-test showed significant differences between shallow and deep soil in terms of plastic particles (p<0.001). The most abundant microplastic particles were the fragment-shaped with the particle size of 0.1-0.5 mm and LDPE polymer types with the percentage of 37.75, 44.64, and 46.15, respectively. Mesoplastic particles, the 0.5-1 cm film-shaped particles and LDPE polymer types with the percentage of 62.76, 61.46, and 50.7 were found as the most prevalent. Microplastics and mesoplastics' potential ecological risks value in all sampling points was less than 150, indicating low ecological risk.

 Despite the low PERI of microplastics and soil mesoplastics in residential areas, the Eri index for LDPE was high. Thus, Ecological risk is probable if control measures are not taken against plastic pollution.

 Changes in the quantity and quality of waste produced as a result of compliance with health protocols are the result of the COVID-19 outbreak. The present study aimed to determine the quantity of personal protection equipment produced in Tehran and people’s knowledge of its management.

 The present cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical study was carried out on 2560 participants in Tehran through an online survey in spring 2020. Based on the percentage of using masks and gloves, the amount of produced waste was calculated, and Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis statistical tests were run to explore the relationship between the variables.

 The overall Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the questionnaire was 0.94, and the rate of mask and glove use was 90.7% and 65.7%, respectively. 70.3% and 52% of the population used two masks and one pair of gloves on a daily basis. The number of daily produced masks and pairs of gloves was 14530407 and 5262666, respectively. Mann-Whitney U-test showed a statistically significant difference between gender and marital status with people’s knowledge of waste management (p <0.05). Kruskal-Wallis test showed a significant difference between the economic status and people’s knowledge of separating the produced waste (p <0.05). People with an increasing income tended to separate the waste more.

 Due to the high volume of personal protective wastes and the lacking knowledge of one-third of the participants about the transmission of the virus through contaminated waste, it is necessary to raise awareness of breaking the virus transmission chain.

Vegetables are one of the most critical groups in people's diet, and quality assurance plays a significant role in health and food safety. Consumption of vegetables is one of the main exposure routes for heavy metals. This study aimed to assess the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of vegetables cultivated around the Tehran landfill areas in 2019.

This descriptive study was conducted using available sampling method in 2019 on eight types of vegetables. The concentrations of heavy metals were measured using ICP-OES after acidic digestion. The carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks were calculated using the related equations. SPSS software was used to determine the relationships between the variables.

The results showed that the order of heavy metals concentration was Al> Fe> Zn> Mn> Cu> Ni> Pb> As> Cr> Co> Cd. The order of contamination load in different vegetables was lettuce> leek> dill> tomato> eggplant> potato> onion> cabbage. Pearson coefficient correlation showed a very strong significant relationship between Cd with Pb, Mn, and Ni at the level of 1%. Hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI) values in all vegetables were below 1, indicating no potential risk for children and adults. Lettuce, leeks, dill, tomatoes, and eggplant and lettuce, dill, and leeks had significant carcinogenic risk for children and adults, respectively.

Considering that long-term consumption of vegetables can expose the consumers to significant carcinogenic risk, mitigation measures and continuous monitoring of heavy metals in crops cultivated in the landfill areas are essential.

 Landfills as municipal solid waste are considered as the source of pollution. The present study aimed to assess the ecological risk of heavy metals in Tehran landfill soil and the adjacent residential area.

 Having consulted with the specialists and considered the waste processing facilities, 12 sampling points were selected and sampled in four seasons. Soil samples were digested using HNO3: HClO4: HCl: HF. The levels of metals were measured using ICP-OES which further applied for the calculation of ecological risk. Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Kruskal-Wallis, and Pearson correlation coefficient analyses were run to determine the significant differences between metals concentrations in various seasons and sampling points. 

 Metal concentration showed to follow theorder: Al > Fe > Mn > Zn > Cr > Pb > Cu >Ni > Co > As > Cd. Kruskal-Wallis results and pairwise comparison showed a statistically significant difference between metal concentrations across sampling points and seasons, especially in rainy seasons. Pearson correlation coefficient displayed a strong relationship between the mean concentrations of Cu - Pb, Cu - Zn, and Pb - Zn with obtained values of 0.932, 0.874, and 0.883, respectively. Cu exhibited the highest contamination factor at the compost and fermentation sites (13.2 and 9.89, respectively). The geo-accumulation index proved the anthropogenic sources of pollution. The potential ecological risk index (ERI) for the sampling sites ranged from 67.3 to 154, with the order of Cd > Cu > Pb > Ni > As > Cr > Zn > Co > Mn. 

 Due to the obtained moderate to severe ecological risk and exceeded background concentrations of heavy metals, it can be concluded that metal changes and soil pollution are both affected by landfill activities.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the pollutants of water resources that disrupts the endocrine glands and is resistant to biodegradation. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of photocatalytic process using Fe2O3/ZnO in the presence of visible light for degradation of BPA in contaminated water.

A descriptive-analytical study in batch mode was performed on synthetic contaminated water samples made in the laboratory. In this study Fe2O3/ZnO catalyst was used to decompose BPA in the presence of visible light. Moreover, the effect of some parameters such as solution pH, catalyst dose, BPA concentration, and radical scavengers on removal efficiency was investigated. The catalystchr('39')s decomposition kinetics and surface properties were also determined using XRD, SEM, DRS, EDX, and BET techniques.

BET analysis showed that the Fe2O3/ZnO catalystchr('39')s surface area was 15.86 m2/g, and the band-gap was 2.7 eV. The highest BPA removal efficiency was obtained at neutral pH, which, considering the interpretation of pKa of BPA and pHpzc of catalyst, seems reasonable. Moreover, with increasing the catalyst dose to 0.04 g/L, BPA removal efficiency increased, and this catalyst dose was selected as the optimum dose. The removal efficiency of BPA was decreased with increasing the initial concentration of BPA. The photo-degradation of BPA fits pseudo-first-order degradation kinetics, and by increasing the initial concentration of BPA from 10 to 100 mg/L, the kobs decreased from 0.012 min-1 to 0.0022 min-1. Radical scavenger tests showed that hydroxyl radical (HO●) and generated holes (h+) play the main role in the degradation of BPA.

Considering the high photocatalytic performance of the Fe2O3/ZnO in the presence of visible light, it is recommended for the decomposition of persistant organic compounds in contaminated water.

With industrial development and population growth, the emerging contaminants enter into the natural water resources. Therefore, in this study Adsorption potential of NH4Cl-induced activated carbon (NAC) was investigated to remove antibiotic sulfanilamide from contaminated water.

Materials & Methods:

The effect of operational conditions including solution pH, NAC concentration, sulfanilamide initial concentration and contact time were studied.

NAC and SAC had specific surface area of 1029, 1024 and mean pore volume of 2.64, 2.23nm, respectively. With increasing the NAC concentration to 1 g/L, sulfanilamide adsorption efficiency increased to 84.4% within 40 min. Then the adsorption slightly increased with the increase in the contact time to 120 min and reached to its maximum adsorption of 99.2%. The maximum adsorption percentage of sulfanilamide onto SAC under similar conditions reached to 49.2%. The kinetics analysis showed that experimental adsorption data for both NAC and SAC were best fitted to the pseudo-second-order model. The maximum adsorption capacity of sulfanilamide onto NAC and SAC, calculated by the Langmuir model, was 238.1 and 87/7 mg/g, respectively.

Generally, these results showed that NAC was an efficient adsorbent with high removal efficiency for eliminating the antibiotics from the contaminated water streams

The efficacy of NH4Cl-induced activated carbon (NAC) was examined in order to adsorb RR198, an azo reactive model dye, from an aqueous solution.
The effects of pH (3 to 10), adsorbent dose (0.1 to 1.2 g/L), dye concentration and contact time on the adsorption efficiency were investigated.
The results showed that the removal of dye was highest at a solution pH of 7 and a powder dose of 1.1 g/L. The 85.9%, 72.6% and 65.4% removal of RR198 was obtained for a concentration of 25, 50 and 100 mg/L, respectively, at a relatively short contact time of 30 minutes, and at optimum pH and NAC concentrations of 1 g/L. The experimental data for kinetic analysis illustrated a best fit to the pseudo-second-order model. The study data on equilibrium were modeled using Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin–Radushkevich models; the Langmuir equation provided the best fit for the data.
Therefore, the NAC appears to be an efficient and appropriate adsorbent for the removal of reactive azo dyes from waste streams.