Environmental Health Engineering and Management Journal
Volume:3 Issue: 3, Summer 2016

Dental wastes are one of the environmental issues due to toxic and pathogenic agents such as pathological wastes, pharmaceutical and chemical etc have particular sensitivity. The aim of this study was to determine the dental waste management and related factors in the city of Ilam.
In this cross-sectional study, the studied community was all the sixteen dental clinics in Ilam. Five samples of each clinic per week (Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday) were selected. Thereafter waste sample was manually separated into 36 components and were weighed using a laboratory scale with an accuracy of 0.01 g. Each component was weighed five times and the mean value obtained for each component was considered. Production per capita was calculated for each person. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, SPSS and Excel software.
The per capita percent for infectious waste section was 51%. The average of infectious waste is 201.13 g. The per capita percent for chemical, pharmaceutical waste section was 36% with an average of 142.48 g. The per capita percent for toxicity section was 13% in the dental clinics with the weighted average of 48.78 g. According to the results of the checklist, further dental clinics have been poorly managed.
According to the presence of various materials and different components with different characteristics in the dental wastes, the optimal management of this type of wastes should be carried out based on the specific characteristics, which include programs to reduce waste production, segregation, recycle and reuse.

The presence of even a very small quantity of dye in water bodies is undesirable and affects the water bodies. Dye removal from industrial waste water is significant; hence in this study, a material that is an economical waste product was employed to test its acid dye removing capacity from aqueous solution.
In this study, batch mode experiments were performed in the sorption process of Acid Red 97 (AR 97), Acid Red 114 (AR 114) and Acid Red 151 (AR 151) onto Curcuma angustifolia scales (CS). Also, the effect of process parameters like pH and adsorbent dosage was studied. The experimental data of AR 97, AR 114 and AR 151 sorption was fitted to Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models. Kinetic results in AR 97, AR 114 and AR 151 sorption were fitted at various concentrations to pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, Elovich and Intra-particle diffusion model.
The monolayer sorption capacity of the acid dyes was found to be AR 97 (350.87 mg/g), AR 114 (202.42 mg/g) and AR 151 (168.91 mg/g). The Pseudo-second order model proved to be the best fit for the acid dyes. Boyd plot, confirms film diffusion in all acid dye sorption processes.
The results showed higher dye removal for acid dyes at pH 2. The isotherm data, demonstrated good sorption capacity with AR 97>AR 114>AR 151. Employing the CS material in this study proves to be a potential alternative to costlier adsorbents, utilized for the treatment of dye containing industrial waste water.

Fruits especially citrus species are an integral part of human diet. Contamination of foodstuffs by heavy and toxic metals via environmental pollution has become an inevitable challenge these days. Therefore, the effect of pollutants on food safety for human consumption is a global public concern. In this regards, this study was conducted for Al and Cu health risk assessment through the consumption of citrus species (orange, grapefruit, sweet lime and tangerine) in Hamedan city in 2015.
After collecting and preparing 4 samples from each citrus species with acid digestion method, the concentrations of Al and Cu were determined using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP–OES) with three replications. In addition, SPSS was employed to compare the mean concentrations of metals with maximum permissible limits (MPL) of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The results showed that the mean concentrations of Al in citrus samples were 3.25±0.35 mg/kg and higher than WHO maximum permissible limits. The mean concentrations of Cu in citrus samples with 0.16±0.05 mg/kg are lower than WHO maximum permissible limits. Also, the computed health risk assessment revealed that there was no potential risk for children and adult by consuming the studied citrus.
Based on the results, consumption of citrus species has no adverse effect on the consumers’ health, but as a result of the increased utilization of agricultural inputs (metal based fertilizers and pesticides, sewage sludge and wastewater) by farmers and orchardists, regular periodic monitoring of chemical pollutants content in foodstuffs are recommended for food safety.

Application of potassium ferrate is a chemical oxidation approach used for water and wastewater treatment. The aim of this study is to apply central composite design (CCD) and response surface methodology (RSM) to optimize potassium ferrate consumption in the treatment of wastewater from carpet industries.
Samples in this experimental study were collected from wastewater, originating from a carpet factory. Wastewater sampling was carried out monthly for a period of two seasons. Ferrate oxidation experiments were conducted by means of a conventional jar-test apparatus. The time and speed for mixing were set with an automatic controller. Parameters of study were measured based on given methodologies in Standard method for examining water and wastewater. CCD and RSM were applied to optimize the operating variables including potassium ferrate dosage and pH.
Results showed that potassium ferrate concentration (A), pH (B), their interactions (AB) and quadratic effects (A2 and B2) were significant in the removal of COD, turbidity, color and TSS from carpet industries effluents. At an optimum point (COD: 160 mg/L of potassium ferrate and pH 4, turbidity: 165 mg/L of potassium ferrate and pH 4, color and TSS: pH 4.5 and 150 mg/L of potassium ferrate) removal efficiencies for COD, turbidity, color and TSS were86, 86, 87 and 89%, respectively.
Potassium ferrate has a significant impact on pollutants decomposition and the removal of color from wastewater produced in carpet industries. This process can be employed for the pretreatment or post treatment of wastewaters containing refractory organic pollutants. CCD and RSM are suitable tools for experimental design.

The biogases are the mixture of gases produced through the microbial decomposition of organic waste which are amply observed in the landfills. The main purpose of this study was to estimate the emission rates of landfill gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and non-methane organic compounds (NMOCs) in the solid waste landfill of Rodan city in Hormozgan province.
All the necessary information such as population, geographic and climate of Rodan city were collected. Solid waste analysis was then conducted. Afterward, the LandGEM software is used in this study for the purpose of estimation of total biogas, methane, carbon dioxide and NMOCs emission from Rodan’s landfill.
The analysis of results showed that only 24.18% of the produced waste in this city is perishable. The calculations indicate that the peak of biogas production which is equal to 420 tons per year would be achieved in the year 2019. The production rates of carbon dioxide and methane in the same year would be equal to 308 and 112 tons per year respectively. The pollutants transmittance calculations in the vicinity of the landfill revealed that the maximum pollutant concentration is within the maximum distance of 200 m.
The results obtained in this study could be used for the purpose of design and installation of extraction or incineration equipment in the landfill of Rodan.

The measurement data regarding the influent and effluent of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) provides a general overview, demonstrating an overall performance of WWTP. Nevertheless, these data do not provide the suitable operational information for the optimization of individual units involved in a WWTP. A full-scale evolution of WWTP was carried out in this study via a reconciled data.
A full-scale evolution of acrylonitrile, butadiene and styrene (ABS) resin manufacturing WWTP was carried out. Data reconciliation technique was employed to fulfil the mass conservation law and also enhance the accuracy of the flow measurements. Daily average values from long-term measurements by the WWTP library along with the results of four sampling runs, were utilized for data reconciliation with further performance evaluation and characterization of WWTP.
The full-scale evaluation, based on balanced data showed that removal efficiency based on chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) through the WWTP were 80% and 90%, respectively, from which only 28% of COD and 20% of BOD5 removal had occurred in biological reactor. In addition, the removal efficiency of styrene and acrylonitrile, throughout the plant, was approximately 90%. Estimation results employing Toxchem model showed that 43% of acrylonitrile and 85% of styrene were emitted into the atmosphere above water surfaces.
It can be concluded that the volatilization of styrene and acrylonitrile is the main mechanism for their removal along with corresponded COD elimination from the WWTP.

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease, that due to the incidence, dissemination and scattering throughout different parts of Iran is of paramount importance. This study was carried out with the aim of determining the epidemiology of leishmaniasis cutaneous in Khatam during 2008-2012.
This is a cross-sectional and retrospective study of collected demographic and epidemiological information, related to 760 patients with the disease who underwent treatment in health centers in Khatam during 2008-2012. This information was analyzed using SPSS version 16 software and includes the history of disease outbreak, age, sex, place of residence, number of wounds, wound placement and a history of travel to endemic areas in the past year.
The results showed that out of a total number of patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis 460 persons were male (60.5%) and 300 persons were female (39.5%); age mean of patients was 22 ± 1.68. The 0-9 years age group was more susceptible to the disease. The lodging for 525 subjects (69.1%) was listed as village, 224 (29.7%) of them lived in the city and 11 people (1.4%) lived on the fringes of the city. 98.8% of these patients were infected with rural cutaneous leishmaniasis. There were 428 cases of wounds on the hands (56.3%) making it the most common type.
The rural leishmaniasis is one of the major health problems of Khatam, and given the high disease incidence in children and farmers, continuing education on the care and control of the disease in the region is of very high importance.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the physical and chemical quality of groundwater in the villages of Qom province during summer 2014, and to compare the results with Iran’s Standard No. 1053.
This research is a descriptive sectional study. During the investigation, one step sampling with the necessary repetitions (if necessary) was performed of each well for evaluation of physical and chemical quality of groundwater in the villages of Qom province. SPSS version 16 and ARCGIS software were employed for data analysis and data zoning respectively.
The average concentration of magnesium, sulfate and ammonia in wells water were higher than standard. The average concentration of fluoride was lower than the standard limit. pH and turbidity in all wells were within the standard limit but sulfate in 33.33%, ammonia in 13.33%, magnesium in 10.66%, sodium in 40%, calcium in 5.33%, nitrate in 17.33%, total dissolved solids (TDS) in 14.66% and electrical conductivity (EC) in 24% of wells were higher than the standard limit, and fluorine in 98.66% of wells was lower than the standard limit. The results of zoning in the villages of Qom province revealed that measured values at most wells were in the maximum amount in central and northeastern areas and minimum amount in southern and western areas.
This study indicated that most of the physicochemical parameters such as fluoride in almost all villages, and sulfates, chloride, magnesium, sodium, calcium, nitrate, TDS and EC in some of the wells did not fall within the permissible limit.