Pollution
Volume:9 Issue: 1, Winter 2023

Urban Heat Island (UHI) is a common urban problem associated with a wide variety of factors, including air pollution. This study investigated the relationship between Land Surface Temperature (LST) and air pollution as two spatial phenomena affecting urban areas. LST was estimated from OLI sensor images taken on 01/07/2020 using the single-channel algorithm. Air pollution was assumed to be indicated by the concentrations of NOX, NO2, NO, PM2.5 and SO2, which were obtained by Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) interpolation from the data recorded on the same date as satellite images. Correlations were measured in terms of R and R2 and errors were estimated in terms of RMSE, MAE and MBE. The highest R and R2 were obtained for SO2 (20.89 and 45.99, respectively). The results showed that despite the high correlation between SO2 and LST, PM2.5 has a much better error distribution. Therefore, further research should be conducted on the relationship between these indices.

In the framework of a project aiming to phytoremediate contaminated soils with heavy metal Cr in Long Khanh city, Dongnai province, Southeast of Vietnam, a series of greenhouse experiments followed by field trials were performed in order to evaluate the effect of L. sphaericus on the Cr phytoextraction by S. nigrum. The results showed that L. sphaericus improved the Cr uptake efficiency of S. nigrum through changing growth parameters such as root length, height, biomass and the ability to accumulate Cr in plants. At an application rate corresponding to the T3 treatment in this experiment, L. sphaericus can stimulate the dry biomass of S. nigrum by 143%, increase the Cr concentrations in the aerial part by 70%, the content of Cr extracted in a single plant up to 293% compared to treatment without L. sphaericus.

The paper reports the results of research on the Bratsk water body (Russia), the hugest man-made reservoir in the world, using aquatic plants as bioindicators. This aquatic environment requires constant monitoring due to metal emissions by metallurgical, machine-building, and other industries. To that end, the accumulation capacities of Myriophyllum spicatum L., Elodea canadensis Michx., Potamogeton pectinatus L. and Cladophora glomerata L. were compared. The Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, and, Pb contents in the plants were quantified with X-ray fluorescence. The calculated bioaccumulation indexes provided similar indicator characteristics of these species. The clustering analysis specified the spatial metal pollution in the reservoir. The aquatic plants sampled near industrial enterprises demonstrated the high concentrations: Ti (573-887), Cr (14-22), Mn (609-1080), Fe (9231-12724), Ni (8-11), Cu (51-103), Zn (35-45) and Pb (10-40) µg/g. The average concentrations in the samples collected away from emission sources were significantly lower: Ti (443-598), Cr (7-10), Mn (439-591), Fe (4575-6573), Ni (6-7), Cu (36-58), Zn (27-33) and Pb (6-9). While, they were several-fold higher than threshold values reported for the Lake Baikal plants: Ti – 6; Cr – 2-2.6; Ni – 1.9; Fe – 3-6.7; Mn – 1.5-2.6; Cu – 4; Zn – 1.2-2, and Pb – 7.3. In addition to industrial impacts, the sedimentation processes, coastal erosion, wood rotting and ore occurrences caused increasing in metal contents. Assessment of pollution through the pollution load index and the integration Nemerov index provided the classification of the environment of the Bratsk water reservoir as polluted one.

This paper aims to study the possibility of providing a low-cost alternative for the adsorbents used in the fluoride adsorption from water by using eggshells. Indeed, eggshells were used as an adsorbent for fluoride adsorption from a drinking groundwater sample containing (2.14 mg/l) of fluoride. The eggshells were crushed and sieved into three particle sizes (0.2, 0.5, and 1mm) and then heated at different temperatures ranging from 100 to 250°C. XRD, FT-IR, pHpzc, and TG/DTA analysis were used for the characterization of the adsorbents.  Adsorption batch experiments were carried out to determine the adsorption capacity of eggshell powder such as, particle size, preparation temperature, contact time, and adsorbent dose. A spectrophotometer UV-VIS was used to assess fluoride removal efficiency. The eggshell powder heated at 250°C with 0.2mm of particle size was found to be the most efficient adsorbent, with a maximum fluoride removal efficiency of 51.4%, a maximum adsorption capacity of 0.052mg/g, and a residual fluoride concentration of 1.1mg/l within 150 minutes. The data of the adsorption kinetic on ES250°0.2 were successfully fitted with the pseudo-second-order model with a satisfying coefficient of determination (R2=0.993). The results of the intra-particle diffusion model showed a multi-linearity, revealing that the diffusion of fluoride into the adsorbent was by two stages with diffusion rate constants of Ki = 0.007 (mg /g/min1/2) and Ki = 0.001(mg /g/min1/2) for the first and second stage respectively. An adsorbent dose of 1.5g and 1 hour of contact time were sufficient to decrease fluoride concentration from 2.14 to 1.1mg/l.

The work evaluates the urban snow cover pollution and determines the level of the city influence on the pollution of the urban atmosphere with major ions (ammonium, nitrite, nitrate, chloride, sulfate, phosphate, sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium) during the winter period (on the case study of Barnaul city, 2014-2019). The priority ions that determine the high pollution of the urban atmosphere in winter are (nitrite, chloride, sodium), the sources of which are the exhaust of motor vehicles (nitrite) and the using of anti-ice reagents (chloride, sodium). The study showed an increase of the major ions in the urban snow cover (with the exception of nitrate ion) by more than two times compared with the regional and more than six times with the global natural background. To study the spatial features of the snow cover pollution interpolation surfaces of the spatial distribution of priority ions in the study area were constructed.

Developing nations, such as Bangladesh, face an enormous crisis in maintaining natural sustainability due to heavy metal contamination by the peripheral rivers. Frequent heavy metals discharged from tanneries, dyeing, and potential anthropogenic activities in Savar city pollute the Dhaleshwari river, which is an important river of the capital city, Dhaka. The present study aimed to assess the heavy metals contamination in the Dhaleshwari river sediment and evaluate the subsequent ecological risk indices emerging from the deposits. The contamination levels of heavy metals such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), and nickel (Ni) were analyzed in the Dhaleshwari River sediment. Various environmental indices, such as Potential Enrichment Risk (PER), Geo-accumulation Index (Igeo), Enrichment factor (EF), Toxic unit analysis (TUs), etc., were observed in various compartments. The concentration of heavy metals ranged as follows: Lead (Pb), 297.3-414.6 mg/L; Cadmium (Cd), 1.5-4.4 mg/L; chromium (Cr), 97.9 -282.4 mg/L; Nickle (Ni), 85.1-264.5 mg/L; Iron (Fe), 11800-14375 mg/L. The metal concentrations were higher than the threshold effect level (TEL) and probable effect level (PEL) standards. Based on the TUs, the probability of toxicity is about 76% (TU > 2.3) at the Dhaleshwari river. Comparative evaluation of different environmental indices between present and past studies indicated progressive deterioration of sediments by heavy metals. Linear correlations of heavy metals in sediment samples demonstrated toxic accumulation of heavy metals in the surrounding ecosystem. The study outcomes emphasize the necessity of systematic investigation in the Dhaleshwari river and warranting effective prioritization to ensure river health over industrial wastewater discharge.

In order to find an effective decolorization method for dye wastewaters, the present work aims at studying the treatment efficiency of an azo dye Acid Red 14 (AR14) by Electro-Fenton process using an undivided electrochemical cell containing different electrode materials. The optimal removal efficiency was obtained using carbon felt or glassy carbon (cathode) and platinum (anode) electrodes. The method is based on the reaction of electrochemically produced hydroxyl radicals leading to oxidative degradation of the AR14. To find the best conditions for treatment of AR14 dye, the effects of Fe2+ concentration, current density, the effect of pH initial, and the nature of support electrolyte were studied. The results showed 94 % removal efficiency in 30 minutes with 120 mA/cm2 of electrolysis current, 0.2 mM of Fe2+, and pH = 3. However, the decolorization efficiency measurements confirmed that the Electro-Fenton process with the platinum anode and the carbon felt cathode was more efficient.

Lake Donuzlav, located in the western part of the Crimean Peninsula is a water body undergoing anthropogenic load, which cannot but affect the state of its bottom sediments.  The content and composition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are representative indicators of the degree and character of an anthropogenic impact in natural habitats. The aim of the work was to assess the level of PAH content in the bottom sediments, to identify potential sources and to assess the toxicity of bottom sediments. It was established that the average content of ∑PAH in the sediments amounted to 806±380 ng/g, with the values of this parameter ranging over 34–4036 ng/g. At five out of ten stations in Lake Donuzlav, PAH values, average for the Black Sea, were exceeded. These stations were grouped along both banks in the inner part of the reservoir. Fourteen PAHs were identified: Nap, 2mNap, Flu, Phe, Ant, Fla, Py, TrPhe, Chr, BbF, BkF, BaP, DBA, BghiP. The main share falls on the binuclear Nap and 2mNap, which indicate the presence of fresh oil pollution. The average share of these compounds over the water area was 60±5%, and at stations with elevated levels of ∑PAH it was 74±4%. There was a close correlation between the content of all polyarenes, which coefficient averaged 0,88. The presence of geochemical relationships between polyarenes entering from different sources was probably due to the functioning of natural mechanisms aimed at the transformation of pollutants, which served to restore the dynamic balance of the system.

The purpose of our study was to identify the native bacteria with the ability to degrade azo dyes from the rhizosphere of Sparganium erectum L., and Typha latifolia L. plants that were grown on a drain of a textile mill. Eight and one strain with decolorization ability of Cibacron Brilliant Red EB and Terasil Red 3BL-01 were isolated from the saline rhizosphere of Sparganium erectum L. and latifolia L. plant respectively. Results showed that the bacteria isolated from the rhizosphere of Sparganium erectum L. are more capable of decolorizing azo dyes. Based on the 16S rRNA sequencing, selected strains were identified as follows: Enterobacter ludwigii strain SNP3 (OL719291), Rhodococcus fascians strain SNP5 (OL759129), Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain SNP10 (OL759126), and Bacillus safensis strain SNP13 (OL759127). The results of azo dyes biodegradation tests revealed that strains SNP10, SNP3, and SNP5 were more capable of decolorizing 94-97%, 72.53-73.8, 72.53%, and 71.13-73.5% of Cibacron Brilliant Red EB at concentration 10-20 mg/L within 72 h, respectively. Besides, strain SNP13 was the fastest strain in decolorization of Cibacron Brilliant Red EB with 68% and 59% decolorization activity at 10 and 20 mg/L respectively (24 h). Only strains SNP3 and SNP13 could decolorize 83% and 77% of Terasil Red 3BL-01 (30 mg/L), respectively. For the first time, our research findings illustrated that indigenous rhizospheric bacterial strains isolated from Sparganium erectum L. plants have the potential to apply as an azo dye breakdown tool in textile effluent treatment or other ecosystems.

Noise and toluene are among the numerous physical and chemical pollutants that can induce adverse effects on different body tissues and systems; nevertheless, most studies have only experimented the auditory changes induced by co-exposure to them. The present in-vivo study aimed to examine the endocrine effects of co-exposure to toluene and noise on the testes and adrenal glands. In this experimental study, 24 healthy male New Zealand White rabbits were used. The noise intensity was 100 dB (white noise) and the toluene concentration was 1000 ppm for two consecutive weeks. The luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone, cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) were measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. The hematoxylin and eosin stain method (H&E) was performed for the histopathological analysis. Comparing different parameters in different groups on post-exposure days was carried out using GEE (generalized estimating equations) method. The results indicated that noise and toluene increased cortisol, LH and FSH levels during different days after the exposure. Exposure to toluene and noise made vacuolization and reduction of primary spermatogonial cells in the testes. Moreover, lymphocyte infiltration, congestion, swelling and vacuolization were detected in adrenal glands through exposure to toluene and noise. Toluene and noise induced different destructive effects on the endocrine system. More studies are required to elucidate other endocrine changes induced by exposure to toluene and noise.

Magnetic properties are used throughout the world to measure the concentration of (ferri) magnetic minerals in soil, sediment and dust. These minerals in soil come from a variety of sources, including air-borne particulate pollution, parent rock and paedogenesis. Changes in the content of magnetic minerals, as well as their spatial and vertical distribution in soil profiles are caused by human activity. Magnetic minerals are distinguished by their affinity for other elements found in soil, such as heavy metal. As a result, magnetic susceptibility has been widely used as an approximation of heavy metal contamination in soil. The current study was conducted in a tropical deciduous forest in Central Uttar Pradesh, namely the kukrail reserve forest in Lucknow to assess heavy metal contamination levels caused by various anthropogenic activities and to confirm the utility of using MS surveying in these types of studies. The current study was conducted at two sites viz. agricultural area and forest area because these sites are the most contaminated ones. Significant correlation between heavy metal concentration and magnetic susceptibility with p<0.005 is noticed for Co, Cr, Pb, Zn, Cu and Fe of agricultural area. Similarly in forest area significant correlation exists between Cr, Ni, Pb and Zn.  The χLF values show a significant correlation with the concentration of heavy metals except for Cu and Cr in forest area and Pb and Zn in agricultural area. In comparison to the methodologies of chemical analysis, the χLF measurement techniques provide us with lower cost and less time consuming method for identification of possible soil pollution.

This work presents an index to evaluate the environmental performance of brick and tile manufacturing. The steps used were: 1) process study; 2) waste analysis; 3) determination of the potential impact of waste; 4) normalization of the potential impact; 5) comparative weighting among the potentials; 6) creation of the index. The index considers three parameters: the amount of waste produced, the disposal of waste, and the spatial dispersion of waste. The index was called CIRI (Ceramic Industry Rating Index) and was tested in a ceramic company. The field application showed that the waste that offered the highest environmental impact were gases generated from the burning of chips (30.850%), ashes generated from the burning of chips (30.483%), and steel drums (28.937%), which total of 90.27%. The CIRI index was 28.732%, which shows bad waste management. In view of the findings, two points must be considered: 1) the impacts generated by gaseous could be mitigated by companies by using technologies for drying tiles and bricks with a lower level of environmental impact; 2) entrepreneurs should be concerned about the fate given to the ashes because the dispose practiced is not environmentally correct. The index is useful for assessing the environmental impact of the brick and tile industry. It is useful for managers insofar as a proposal for process improvements. The novelty of this study lies in the index developed, which was designed to consider: the potential for environmental impact, the amount of waste, the spatial coverage, and the adequacy of waste disposal.

Lighvan hot spring and Toptapan mineral spring are located in the Eastern Azarbaijan, NW of Iran. The host rocks of Lighvan hot spring are dacite, andesite and Quaternary volcanic tuffs. Their main rock forming minerals are quartz, plagioclase, biotite and rarely amphibole. The host rocks of Toptapan mineral water spring are Cretaceous and Jurassic sandstone, shales and carbonate sedimentary rocks. Their main rock forming minerals are quartz, calcite, dolomite and clays. Due to the deposition of mineral water springs, travertine is the main Quaternary sediments around the springs. Water samples were collected from Toptapan mineral spring and Lighvan hot spring in July (dry season). The sampling method was according to standard methods for geochemical analysis. Field parameters such as PH, temperature, and EC were measured in situ, and samples were analyzed by ICP-OEC and ICP-MS in the laboratory of the Geological Survey of Iran. The measuring data showed that pH varies between 6.1 to 6.4. The surface temperature varies from 20.1˚C to 32.8˚C. The concentration of anions and cations in the Piper diagram show calcic bicarbonate type for Toptapan mineral spring and sodic bicarbonate type for Lighvan hot spring respectively. According to Lunglier – Ludwig diagram, the dissolution of carbonate and silicate minerals is the most important factor in increasing calcic cation. The Cl-Li-B diagram shows that the dissolution of sodic minerals and clays and ionic exchange are also the most important factors for increasing sodium in these springs. These data are in agreement to the host rocks, their mineralogy and their chemical composition. Based on the Ca-Mg-K geothermometer diagram, the geothermal reservoir temperature for Lighvan hot spring is 95-100 ˚C with a depth of about 2Km and for Toptapan mineral spring is 65-85 ˚C with a depth of less than 1Km. Also, high concentrations of chlorine show a deep geothermal primary reservoir in the Lighvan hot spring. These geochemical data show that these cold and hot springs are not polluted and not harmful for environmental point of views.

The first future challenge facing human beings is to supply the world's energy needs. However, energy consumption and resource depletion in industrial processes are significantly increasing. Therefore, life cycle assessment can be an excellent tool to quantify resources and energy consumption in different parts of industrial processes. The combination of process simulation and assessment of process life cycle can be resources & energy consumption in different parts is quantified and can be significantly reduced by optimizing the process, energy wastage. The process stimulation is done by HYSIS software, then by collecting output data, energy and materials flow, life cycle assessment is conducted using SIMAPRO software. According to output of the release list, 1709 items are released into the environment, of which 396, 407, 340 items are released into the air, water, soil, respectively and 556 items are extracted from sources. The most appropriate procedure to assess the life cycle of crude oil processing is Cumulative Energy Demand and Cumulative Exergy Demand energy approach. Based on the first-order analysis, the highest consumption of resources and energy is in the crude oil transmission sector; (Road construction with 44.95 petajoules and transmission pipelines with 19.85 petajoules). Also, regarding the second-order analysis, the highest consumption of resources and energy is related to crude oil production processes with 1.65 petajoules per operation and desalination unit, medium voltage electricity consumption with 0.002194 petajoules and exergy of power lines with 0.00087 petajoules.

The main objective of the current study is to determine the distributions of the specific radioactivity concentrations (226Ra, 232Th and 40K) from terrestrial sources using gamma spectroscopy system (HPGe-detector). Forty (40) agricultural soil samples were collected from Wadi Al-Hussini and Tuban in Yemen. The study locations are famous for exporting coffee all over the world. The average of radio-concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K were 61.95±11.57, 32.33±8.03 and 1045.17±153.47 Bq/kg for Wadi Al-Hussini and 65.20±11.59, 50.95±9.80 and 1078.13±157.57 Bq/kg for Tuban, respectively. The obtained results are higher than the average worldwide values reported by UNSCEAR. So, it is not acceptable with global safe criteria. Also, the radiation hazard parameters such as radium equivalent activity, absorbed gamma dose rate, outdoor and indoor annual effective dose equivalent, external and internal radiation hazard index, gamma index level, annual gonadal dose equivalent and excess lifetime cancer risk. All of these parameters are acceptable and within the worldwide values. The obtained results could be considered as reference data to follow up any changes in the future for natural radionuclides pollutants and their risks in the study area.

In most developing nations, municipal wastewater treatment is limited to aerobic secondary treatments, expensive and ineffective in removing nutrients from treated effluents before discharge, resulting in eutrophication and imbalance in receiving bodies. As a result, the effectiveness of Chlorella vulgaris for primarily treated wastewater collected from a sewage treatment plant during an 8-hour detention time was investigated in this study. Microalgae have been found to efficiently remove organics and nutrients to levels far below the desired limit in the present research. After algal treatment concentration of COD, phosphate and ammonia reduced to 12.43 mg/L (93.75%), 0.04 mg/L (98.40%) and below detectable limit (100%) respectively. In addition, remarkable reduction was found in solids (TSS, TS and TDS) and EC concentration. The use of microalgae resulted in an increase in DO concentration. As a result, introducing Chlorella vulgaris into a wastewater treatment system can lower nutrient and organics contents without any additional treatment.

This study presents a new approach to solve the one-dimensional solute transport equation with variable coefficients and two input sources in a finite porous media. The medium is divided into m-layers porous media with constant averages coefficients in each transport problem. The transport equations in layer i-1 and i are coupled by imposing the continuity of solute concentration and the dispersive flux at the interfaces of the layers. Unknown functions representing the dispersive flux at the interfaces between adjacent layers are introduced allowing the multilayer problem to be solved separately on each layer in the Laplace domain before being numerical inverted back to the time domain. The obtained solution was compared with the Generalized Integral Transform Technique (GITT) and numerical solutions for some problems of solute transport with variables coefficients in porous medium present in the literature. The results show a good agreement between both solutions for each of the studied problem. An example of application considering an advective-dispersive transport problem with a sinusoidal time-dependent emitting rate at the boundary was study in order to illustrate the effect of sinusoidal frequency on solute concentration.

Shelf areas of the seas and oceans characterizing high productivity are the spawning sites of many aquatic organisms. However, they are strong impacted for anthropogenic pollution, including oil contamination, which negatively influence on marine organisms. The effects of mazut and diesel fuel in the concentrations of 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 ml/l on the activity of antioxidant enzymes which are recognized as biomarkers of the oxidative stress namely superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (PER) and glutathione reductase (GR) in the developing embryos of two marine blennies Parablennius sanguinolentus and Salaria pavo (Perciformes: Blenniidae) on the V - VI developmental stages were studied. The results demonstrated higher mazut toxicity as compared with diesel fuel. In P. sanguinolentus embryos exposed to mazut the activity of key anti-oxidant  enzymes SOD and CAT were significantly higher (+413% and +100% as  compared with the control, p<0.05), while in the case of diesel fuel the enzymes level varied insignificantly. In the embryos of S. pavo SOD and CAT activities were also increased at mazut incubation (256% and 103% respectively, p<0.05), while the differences between enzymes level in embryos exposed to diesel fuel were lower. In contaminated S. pavo embryos enzyme activities varied less as compared with the embryos of P. sanguinolentus, therefore they are more resistant and adaptive to oil contamination. The possible mechanisms of fish embryos antioxidant system response to oil pollution are discussed.

Naphthenic acids are a group of polar organic carboxylic acids that are present in crude oil naturally. They are cycloaliphatic carboxylic acids which have 10 to 16 carbons, which gained importance since the early twentieth century because of corrosion in oil refineries. Moreover, they are the most important environmental pollutants caused by oil extraction from oil sand reserves. Heavy crude oils which have high concentration of naphthenic acids are usually considered as poor-quality oil and sold at a lower price. Often, the high concentration of naphthenic acids in crude oil reduces the life of the equipment which are used in the exploration and refining process because of corrosion. Hence, researchers are increasingly interested in the chemical properties of naphthenic acids and the acidic components of the crude oils. The most popular methods for the identification and analysis of naphthenic acids are liquid and gas chromatography (GC), liquid-liquid extraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and solid-phase extraction (SPE). Naphthenic acids are the most important environmental pollutants caused by oil extraction from oil sand reserves. Previous studies have revealed that naphthenic acids can be absorbed by fish, but their distribution in different tissues of fish has not been specified. Experimental samples showed the highest toxicity to fish, while there was less toxicity to invertebrates and algae. Moreover, naphthenates have various industrial utilizations; they are used in synthetic detergents, corrosion inhibitors, lubricants, fuel and oil additives, wood preservatives, insecticides, fungicides, pesticides, wetting agents, napalm thickening agents, and oil desiccants that are utilized in painting and treating wood surfaces.

Metals contamination in water is becoming a threat to human health. The studies ecological and health risk assessment of trace metals was conducted in seven water bodies in Akwa Ibom State, between May 2021 and April 2022 (twelve months), to evaluate the levels of trace metals contaminant and suitability of the waters for human consumption. Six trace metals were assessed in the water samples; using atomic absorption spectrophotometer after digestion. Pollution indices such as heavy metal pollution index, comprehensive pollution index, contamination index and health risk assessment for non-carcinogenic were employed. The findings were compared with Nigerian Standard for Drinking Water Quality. The mean concentration of some metals (Pb, Cd, Cr, and Cu) in some stations were exceeded the standard limits, while Fe and Ni exceeded the acceptable limits in all the stations, due to anthropogenic activities. The values for HPI in stations I, II, IV and VII were exceeded the threshold of 100, ranging between 61.4 and 743.5; CPI ranged from 1.05 to 3.72, while Cd ranged from 0.94 to 16.3, indicated that the water bodies are highly contaminated. The CDI and HQ values for Fe, Cd, Cr and Cu exceeded the oral toxicity reference dosage of contaminant and stipulated threshold (1) for HI in some stations both in children and adult, indicated that the water bodies are not suitable for human consumption. The findings call for concern regarding their effects on human health, which could be detrimental to the people drinking from these water.

Mining wastes occupy huge areas around the world, therefore, research aimed at their disposal and reclamation of disturbed territories is very relevant. We studied artificial soil based on neutralized ombrotrophic peat (Histosols Fibric) with different content (5% and 10% by weight) of copper smelting slag recycling waste ("technical sand"): finely dispersed (less than 0.05 mm), mechanically activated material. We analyzed the content of toxic element in peat, underground and aboveground parts of lawn grasses and potatoes. The coefficients of concentration and accumulation of elements were calculated. It was found that the introduction of 5% waste leads to exceeding the maximum permissible concentrations and approximately permissible concentrations (the regulated values for Russia) for zinc, copper, arsenic, antimony, and lead. The molybdenum content exceeds the Soil Quality Guidelines accepted in Canada, for selenium the values are at the limit level. The content of zinc, copper, cobalt, arsenic, molybdenum, antimony is significantly reduced (by 2-3 times) during the growing season. Ecological assessment of agricultural plants grown on artificial soil with 5% of "technical sand" showed that there are no excesses of the maximum permissible levels for any regulated element for potato tubers; a slight excess of arsenic was detected for lawn grasses. We additionally assessed the safety of potato tubers using the maximum permissible concentrations for food and established an excess of cadmium (3.4 times on the peat, with the addition of waste almost unchanged) and zinc (1.6 times on peat, 2.8 times for a peat with 10% waste).

Nowadays, the pollution of sulfur compounds is gradually increasing due to the growing wastewaters and industrial developments. In this study, 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) removal from aqueous solution has been investigated using the combination of the ultrasonic and UV waves (ultra/UV). The effective parameters include pH, irradiation time, initial concentration of MBT, and volume of hydrogen peroxide at constant temperature of 25 °C. To exact evaluation of the design of experiments (DOE) and analyze of variance (ANOVA), response surface methodology (RSM) was employed. The results revealed that waves’ energy and subsequently cavitation phenomenon and hydroxyl radicals played significant roles in cracking the studied organosulfur’ bonds. In addition, hydrogen peroxide oxidant promoted the sulfur removal in the process. Maximum sulfur removal was numerically optimized as 99.74 that had an absolute error of 1.47% in comparison with the experimental one (98.29). Finally, COD and DO analyses were studied at optimum conditions. The tests confirmed the experimental results, appropriately. Therefore, the combination of the ultrasonic and UV irradiation can be significantly effective on removing organosulfur’s pollutants in industrial wastewaters and related ones.

Heavy metals contamination of rainwater is a function of the adsorbed metals present in the particulates of the atmosphere in which the rain was formed from and rainwater chemistry is an alternative way of monitoring urban air pollution for predominant metal species. Three distinct sampling sites (residential, industrial and commercial) were investigated in the south western part of Nigeria for one year. After acid digestion, quantification was done using a double-beam Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The obtained results showed that heavy metals were predominantly present as free metal ion in the commercial and industrial areas but Mn and As mainly occurred in the suspended fraction. Residential area presented major fractions as bound to organic complexes except Cu and Cd which were principally available as suspended fraction. The health risks associated with the intake of the studied rainwaters indicated susceptibility to possible carcinogens upon consumption due to total RI > 10-4. Ecological risk assessment equally shown a very high level of ecological risks related with the metals due to RI ˃ 600. Sequel upon this, there is need for better sensitization of the citizenry to the sources and control of these pollutants.

The goal of this research was to investigate the efficacy photocatalysis with natural solar radiation and artificial UV radiation for disinfecting total coliforms in biologically treated wastewater.   The effect of TiO2 dosage and irradiation time on total coliform inactivation as measured by log reduction values (LRV), removal of BOD, COD, turbidity, and effluent properties as measured by pH and conductivity was investigated. Two sets of experimental equipment were constructed, one for using solar UV light and the other for using artificial UV light. After four hours of irradiation with 60 mg/L TiO2, photocatalysis achieved LRVs of 1.4 and 1, respectively, under UV and solar radiation. COD and BOD were reduced by 67% and 50% respectively under UV and solar radiation after two hours of irradiation with 60 mg/L TiO2. Turbidity was reduced by 71%. Both conductivity and acidity of the effluent were reduced as TiO2 concentration was increased. Photocatalysis with natural solar radiation produced disinfection results that were comparable to that of efficient UV light exposure. Artificial UV light and natural solar radiation can be combined in photocatalysis process to form a hybrid process.

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a significant concern that affects comfort and health. It is well understood that hospitals are thermal environments in which comfort must be calibrated. This comparative study examined existing international standards of IAQ in Iranian health care facilities. A systematic review of studies on IAQ standards was conducted to test the hypothesis regarding which parameters, and at what level, can have an impact on hospital IAQ: EPA, ASHRAE, LEED, BREEAM, NIOSH, OSHA, WHO, ACGIH, Canadian, and OEL. The inclusion criteria were met by 34 of the 1886 studies that were screened from 2010-2021. The findings of the selected studies were classified into four categories for analysis: monitoring of IAQ according to standards (n=34), IAQ in healthcare facilities (n=1), impact of air pollution on human health (n=9), and interventions to improve IAQ (n=1). Based on these IAQ standards, the acceptable limit for CO2 6300 *10³ µg/m³, for CO 9000 µg/m³, for Formaldehyde 19 µg/m³, for NO2 37 µg/m³, for O3 98 µg/m³, for PM2.5 0.1 µg/m³, for PM10 10 µg/m, and for SO2 31 µg/m³ was suggested. The majority of studies conducted monitoring of pollutants in indoor environments used for homes and schools, with the majority of them relying on WHO IAQ standards. CO, PM, and NO2 concentrations have been the most studied and have the longest track record of research. The acceptable limit for IAQ parameters was proposed.

The objective of this study was to identify the correlation between NOx concentration and envi-ronmental variables at photocatalytic concrete pavements containing TiO2 by direct monitoring in field. In order to confirm the NOx concentration according to various environmental variables of the photocatalytic concrete pavements, humidity, temperature, light intensity, and NOx concen-tration were measured continuously for 3 days at photocatalytic pavement, concrete pavement, and atmospheric conditions, respectively. We identified the NOx concentration at all measurement sites and calculated the NOx removal efficiency of the photocatalytic pavements. As a result, the NOx concentration of the photocatalytic pavement was 0.086 ppm on the 1st day, 0.125 ppm on the 2nd day, and 0.106 ppm on the 3rd day, which was mostly lower than that of the concrete pavement and the atmospheric conditions. When the NOx removal efficiency of the photocatalytic pavement on days 1–3 was examined by time, the NOx removal efficiency was evidently higher in the order of 0–6 h > 18–24 h or 6–12 h > 12–18 h for all three measurement days. In addition, the relationship between NOx removal efficiency and environmental variables was analyzed. As a result of corre-lation analysis between NOx removal efficiency and environmental variables of the site, relative humidity showed a positive (+) correlation, while temperature and light intensity showed a negative (-) correlation. Based on our results, we summarize some considerations for evaluating the NOx removal performance of photocatalytic pavements applied in the field.

This study was conducted to assess air quality status in the selected cities of Pakistan through Air Quality Index (AQI) and Multi Pollutant Index (MPI) and their correlation. Secondary data on air pollutants’ concentrations for the year 2021 were used from the literature. For this investigation, major air pollutants including carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter were used and compared with Punjab Environmental Quality Standards. Air quality indices, Multi Pollutant Index (MPI) and the Air Quality Index (AQI) were used in the study. Overall condition of the air pollutants in the particular location was described using the Air Quality Index. For this formula, the average concentration of each pollutant across a range of time periods was first calculated. The concentration of each pollutant was then divided by the relevant standard value, which was then cumulatively averaged and represented as a percentage. Results showed that Lahore and Karachi are two of the cities with unhealthy to hazardous AQI values and poor air quality according to MPI values. Air quality is deteriorating in industrial and traffic-congested cities where pollution levels significantly exceeded the threshold values. Using the linear regression, the results confirmed the strong association between the AQI and MPI. There is a need for immediate action to be taken to lower pollutants’ concentrations and improve air quality in urban areas.

Two fly ashes from municipal solid waste incineration were selected to study their heavy metal leaching behavior. The main purpose of this research is to investigate the characteristics of fly ashes and compare the leaching of heavy metals in different leaching environment. pH and acid neutralization capacity analysis showed that fly ashes were highly alkaline. Fly ashes also contained a variety of heavy metals including Pb, Cu, Cr, Zn, Cd and Ni etc. Leaching studies showed that the alkalinity of fly ashes raised the pH of leaching solution from acidic to basic. Ni, Cu and Zn were strongly bound to ashes and manifested low leaching. In contrast, Cr and Cd had high mobility but their leaching was inhibited by the low solubility of carbonate Cr and Cd. Pb was highly leachable in the alkaline environment with concentration in the leaching solution reached as high as 9.74 mg/L. In addition, the presence of EDTA in the environment also increased leaching. Pb concentration was raised to 16.63 mg/L. This could be attributed to the chelating capacity of EDTA which means that the presence of organics in natural environment should be taken into consideration.

Constructed wetland (CWs) systems offer an economical alternative to wastewater (WW) treatment in developing countries. So this study investigated lab-scale hybrid constructed wetlands (HCWs) with plant species Canna indica and Typha latifolia in mono and mixed culture for removing organic matter and nutrients from municipal wastewater (MWW) under arid climatic conditions. A HCW system consists of a storage tank feeding four series of vertical flow constructed wetlands (VFCWs) followed by horizontal flow-constructed wetlands (HFCWs). The results indicate that the planted beds performed better in removing suspended solids (TSS) (89.93% by Typha latifolia), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) (95.01% by mixed-culture), chemical oxygen demand (COD) (90.77 by Typha latifolia), nitrite (NO2-) (89.99% by mixed-culture), ammonium nitrogen (NH4+) (99.98 % by mixed-culture), and orthophosphate (PO43-) (87.22% by Typha latifolia) as compared to the unplanted bed for the same parameters (87.85%, 92.87%, 77.35%, 85.30%, 99.75%,  and 80.95%), respectively. The nitrate (NO3−) concentration in the effluent recorded the highest increase in the VFCW unit planted with mixed culture from 0.44 to 0.999 mg/l and decreased in the second stage to 0.588 mg/l at the HCW outlet. The mean values of the testing parameters in different HCW systems were not significant between the mono and mixed culture (P > 0.05), with a significant difference (P <0.05) between the VFCWs and HFCWs. The finding of this study demonstrated that Canna indica and Typha latifolia have been effective in WW treatment by HCW systems.

The use of plastics as a biofilter medium is an environment-friendly and effective technology for reducing pollutants in liquid waste. The main objective is to analyze the ability of biofilters with plastic media to remove pollutants in wastewater by looking at several parameters. Various types of data were developed and analyzed to answer specific goals set through the search engines EBSCO, Scopus, and ProQuest by examining several parameters, including wastewater source, research scale, research period, temperature, media type, media thickness, and pollutant removal. The obtained data were processed to determine the distribution of the descriptions. Data related to biofiltration using plastic media was obtained from 152 articles, with only 14 articles in the search category. These findings show that all types of plastic media are effective for biofilm attachment and bacterial growth, resulting in a very large removal of pollutants present in liquid waste. Biofilters with plastic media are also known to be able to remove contaminants such as Chemical Oxygen Demand, biological oxygen demand, total organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, ammonia nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, toluene, ammonia, diethanolami, phenol, total suspended solids, and Escherichia coli. Synthetic wastewater (35.71%) was the most common wastewater source. Research related to biofiltration using plastic as the medium is mostly carried out on a laboratory scale with a total of 64.30% and using units of the day as an indicator of changes in a total of 71.42%, with an average experimental temperature of 29.1 °C.