International Journal Of Environmental Research
Volume:9 Issue: 2, Spring 2015

Metabasites and serpentinites of the ophiolitic sequence of the Gimigliano-Mount Reventino Unit (Calabria, southern Italy), also known as greenstones, are employed and marketed for building and ornamental purposes since prehistorical times. The main topic of our research focuses on the occurrence, within the above lithotypes, of asbestiform minerals that may be potentially harmful for human health. A detailed mineralogical and petrographic characterization by means of Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM), X-Ray Powder Diffractometry (XRPD), Scanning Electron Microscopy combined with Energy-Dispersive Spectrometry (SEM/EDS), and Thermo Gravimetry together with Differential Scanning Calorimetry (TG/DSC) pointed out as asbestiform minerals may occur in outcrops as well as in quarries located in surroundings of Mount Reventino. Indeed, tremolite resulted to be the main constituent among the asbestos minerals contained in metabasites, followed by actinolite; moreover, other amphiboles (not regulated by the Directive 2003/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the European Council of 27th March 2003) detected are crossite, glaucophane, hornblende and gedrite. As far as serpentinites, chrysotile is the dominant asbestos phase. Obtained results hold environmental implications, since they can be used in order to take decisions for the realization of health protecting measures during human activities such as road construction and quarry excavations and may also provide new data for the compulsory Italian mapping of natural sites that are characterized by the presence of the asbestos commonly known as NOA (Naturally Occurring Asbestos).

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) have widely aroused public concern due to their ubiquity, environmental persistence, long-range transportability, bioaccumulation capacities and potentially adverse effects on living organisms. Dakar is located in the industrial zone of Senegal (80% of industrial activities) and inhabits 25% of Senegalese population leading to an ideal sink of these persistent organic pollutants. In the present paper, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclicAromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analyzed in sediments and marine organisms. The contamination level of PAHs,Me-PAHs and PCBs in surface sediment and aquatic organisms (one macroalgae, two invertebrate species, four fish species and macroalgae) were determined. The concentration levels in the sediment were detected from 2 to 636 μg/kg dw for Σ16PAHs, from 3 to 3 μg/kgdw for Σ18Me-PAHs and from 4 to 333 μg/kg dw for Σ28PCBs for the selected stations in Dakar costal area. PAHs concentrations determined in edible tissues were lower than sediment samples. Tilapia species present the highest mean levels of PAHs and Me-PAHs at 92 ± 54 and 183 ± 39 μg/kg dw respectively. For PCBs, the highest level was determined in Perna perna species (up to 1228 μg/kg dw) and the lowest level was found in Penaeus kerathurus species. At the base of the food chain, Ulvalactula species displayed low PCB concentrations detected at 7 ± 6 μg/kg dw. The totalmercury concentration was also reported in this paper in order to complete the background of pollution degree and to study the potential processes of biomagnification and/or bioaccumulation of contaminants in marine food chain. Mercury concentration were detected in the sediment ranging from 5 to 95 μg/kg dw. For marine species, considering all organisms, the mean concentration of mercury varies between 5 and 442 μg/kg dw. Pyrogenic process was the predominant source of PAHs contamination in our sampling sites. Based on Sediments Quality Guidelines (ERM–ERL/TEL–PEL approaches) rare biological adverse effects of total mercury, PCBs and PAHs on aquatic ecosystems were expected in Dakar coastal area. Finally, in the context of human health, the edible marine species qualities obtained from three stations of Dakar coastal areas have been also evaluated. Based on the European Union legislation, the selected species present good quality for human consumption based on PCBs, PAHs and mercury.

Brassica chinensis L. is a popular vegetable, especially in Asian dishes. For plant growing with inorganic fertilizer, cadmium (Cd) has been one of the highest metal and health-risk factors included. This research aimed to assess the bioaccumulation of Cd by the plant and its genetic changes. The plant was grown in the soil supplemented by Cd at 0, 15, 30, 60 and 120 mg/kg. The accumulations in the roots, stems and leaves, were analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS), then the Bioconcentration Factor (BCF) and translocation Factor (TF) were calculated. DNA changes were accessed by random Amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) with Genomic Template Stability (GTS) tests. The Cd accumulation in the plant parts after 30 days of the treatments ranged from 80.93 to 5053.48 mg/kg, 35.53 to 2439.61 mg/kg, and 21.21 to 2231.02 mg/kg, respectively. The BCF and TF values ranged from 4.54 to 12.66 and 0.7 to 1.67, respectively. From RAPD fingerprints, the GTS values ranged from 51.34 to 80.96%. At the highest concentration of Cd supplemented (120 mg/kg), the DNA resulted in the highest changes (GTS = 51.34%). These results, including BCF and TF values, also indicated that B. chinensis is a Cd-hyperaccumulator, therefore, consuming the plants growing in the Cd-polluted area is a health risk.

The effluents of tannery industries are the major source of chromium contamination in the groundwater. In most of the sub-urban areas ground water is the major source of drinking water. For human being Long term exposure to chromium is detrimental. The main objective of this study is to assess the groundwater contamination and to adopt appropriate methods and to develop suitable techniques either to prevent chromium contamination or to reduce it to very low levels with due consideration to cost optimization. Bore well samples were collected from 6 location from the proximity of tannery industry at a distance of 25m interval and at different depth during 2014 in the month of March. To remove the chromium from the groundwater neem leaves is used as the adsorbent. The column study was conducted to determine the effect of adsorbent to remove the chromium concentration from the ground water. To investigate the influences of bed height on the performance of chromium adsorption on to the neem leaves in a fixed-bed column. The results reveal that the concentration of chromium is high near the tannery industry in Chrompet so the study concluded that usage of groundwater in Chrompet should be avoided.

Investigating urban environmental conditions, informs us about the unsustainability and excessive degradation of ecological context, which result in rising environmental concerns among the society. Classified information about the status and trends of environmental components is needed as a rational tool to help urban sustainable planning and SOER reports can help provide such information. Preparing the state of environment report (SOER) for cities around the world has become a pervasive action and fortunately Tehran is among pioneer cities in this aspect. This research is based on the results of Tehran’s second state of environment report, in which different aspects of environmental problems are investigated in city of Tehran. The results show an increase in environmental loads, which is evident from the rate of land cover change, water consumption and waste production. Degradation of ecological environment in Tehran is severe for soilpollution, biodiversity loss and climate change which can be the result of other environmental factors degradation such as air and water. In the end, according to components of DPSIR causal chain, different responses are proposed that can serve as a framework to develop strategies and action plans for a more efficient environmental planning of city of Tehran. We conclude that DPSIR model can link different aspects and depict the interaction and interconnectedness of different components of environmental issues in urban areas.

In Iraq, waste generation was increased after 2003 war events due to intensepopulation development and economic growth. The limitation of designable system for Municipal SolidWaste (MSW) management led to serious problems regarding environment and human health. Sanitary landfill in the south of Kirkuk is the first kind of effective system for municipal solid waste management in Iraq. In the first effort to assess the pollution potential of leachate and its impact on ground water, leachate samples from pre treatment basin, post treatment basin and leachate pond were analyzed for physico-chemical characteristics (pH, EC, TSS, TDS, BOD, COD, Cl-, SO4 -2, PO4 -3, NO3 - and NO2 -) and heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Mn, Ni and Cd). Similar analysis was done on two monitoring wells around landfill site (MW1, directed leachate pond and MW2 directed landfill site). The leachate pollution index (LPI) was also determined. The results showed that the main concentrations of BOD, COD, SO4 -2, PO4 -3, and NO3 - in the monitoring well samples are above the permissible limits of WHO standards regarding drinking water quality. It may particularly be due to the impact of leachate outflows on groundwater quality and surface drainage during rainy season. Analytical results of leachate samples indicate the early acidic biodegradation stage of Kirkuk landfill. The high LPI value of 6.651 was recorded for leachate before treatment indicating the role of leachate treatment to minimize the levels of pollutants.

This work investigates the use of Fenton’s process (pH 5.5 and 6; 0.10-0.50 mM Fe(II); molar ratios Fe(II) to H2O2 of 1:5-1:20) combined with flocculation for the treatment of groundwater which is rich in natural organic matter (NOM) (10.6±0.37 mg C/L) and arsenic (110±6.7 μg/L). Changes to the character of the residual NOM fractions were followed, as well as the removal efficiencies of NOM and arsenic. Under optimal reaction conditions at pH 5.5, 55% of theDissolvedOrganic Carbon (DOC) was removed, whilst removals of specific disinfection by-product precursors of trihalomethanes (THM), haloacetic acids (HAA) and haloacetonitriles (HAN) were 80%, 75% and 98%, respectively. Total arsenic concentrations were reduced to below 5 μg/L under all investigated experimental conditions. After the Fenton treatment, the percentage of the hydrophobic NOMfraction (humic acid and fulvic acid fraction) decreased, and the percentage of the hydrophilic fraction (acidic and non-acidic fractions) increased. The hydrophilic fraction, which was the most abundant in the treated water, was also the most reactive fraction towards THM and HAA formation, whereas the residual fulvic acid fraction contributed the most to the formation of HAN.

Using of microorganisms to remove industrial pollutions of environment is an efficient method that mimics natural process and decrease remediation cost. In this study, 450 actinomycete strains were isolated from high metal content soils in Iran. Heavy metal salt solutions in different concentrations were used to isolate the resistant strains. 40 resistant actinomycetes which they showed highly resistance to the most applied heavy metals were selected. After examination of these strains in broth media with high levels of metals, 13 resistant isolates were selected as high resistant actinomycetes. Some strains showed resistance to 140 mM ZnCl2, 7 mM CuSO4, 9.2 mM CdCl2, and 60 mM NiCl2. Molecular identification revealed that resistant strains belonged to different actinomycetes genera including Streptomyces,Nonomuraea, Saccharothrix, Streptosporangium and Promicromonospora which was the first report on occurrence of highly metal resistant strains in Nonomuraea, Streptosporangium and Promicromonospora genera. Cadmium removal studies by Promicromonospora sp. UTMC 2243 indicated 96.5% reduction in cadmium residual concentration, reflecting cadmium removal capacity in Promicromonospora sp. UTMC 2243.

Processing of round potatoes (Solanum tuberosum (L.) into chips in Tanzania and particularly Dar es Salaam city is a growing business that attract low wages employees and unemployed occupants. Proliferation of chips vendors with low knowledge, poor attitude and practice towards environment have resulted into poor management of potato peels waste which are haphazardly disposed of thus causing unhealthy environment, health risks and dilapidated infrastructure. In this paper, the contribution of potato peels to emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) was analyzed for Dar es Salaam city adapting the UNFCCC baseline scenario model. Based on the 2012 city population of 4.37million with 5.6% growth rate, peels generation and GHGs emission potential have been quantified and projected for 20 years. The global warming potential as CO2 equivalent cumulatively stands at 2 kilotons of peels to 1 ton GHGs emission. Field investigation to assess feasibility of using the peels for biogas production as mitigation measure for the GHGs emission was conducted. Availability, quantitative and qualitative attributes of the peels for the biogas production in Dar es Salaam are hereby presented.

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the application of recycled aggregates of construction debris such as concrete, cement block and rubbles from Pars-Kangan site in asphalt concrete mix design. To evaluate the performance of aggregates different mix designs with recycled aggregate percentages of 0, 10, 30, 50 and bitumen percentages of 4, 4.5, 5, 5.5, 6, and 6.5 were provided and two Marshall specimens (Totally 48 specimens) prepared for each mix design. Marshall test was conducted on the specimens to evaluate their physical and mechanical properties. The test results indicated that the increase of recycled aggregates percentage in asphalt concrete mix design leads to lower strength in Marshall specimens. Hence, in the next round of research the same asphalt concrete mix designs with bitumen-sulfur proportion of 60-40 were provided in order to increase the strength of aggregates. The Marshall physical and mechanical test results specified that sulfur has a significant role in increasing the strength of specimens. But increasing the recycled aggregates resulted in decrease of strength. By comparing the test results, it was inferable that sulfur doesn’t have a significant role in increasing the technical specifications of aggregates, and it only increases the strength of specimens.

Urban environments rely on the surrounding natural ecosystems remnants as providers of ecosystem functions, therefore these areas not only support a unique biodiversity but also have a social value for maintaining public health andwellbeing. For this reason, urbanization is considered to be one the biggest threats to ecosystems, leading to native biodiversity simplification and, thus, to a detriment of the provided ecosystemservices.Moreover, this change in land use results in high levels of landscape fragmentation and modification in areas surrounding the habitat remnantswhich, in consequence, become inadequate formany native species. In this context, it is important that urban planners have the information to assess the possible consequences of future changes in land use in order to increase the landscape chances of supporting both, native biodiversity and the needs of a growing human population. The objective of the present work is to evaluate the ecological integrity of natural and semi-natural vegetation patches immersed in an urban area in order to generate a conceptual framework for landscape assessment that allows urban planners to envision the best choice for city development at a given place. To do so, we developed a quantitative integral environmental evaluation index that includes ecological characterization, geological characterization, and environmental characterization (presence of anthropic disturbance) of the assessed area. We conclude that the index we have generated in this work is suitable to be used as a management tool to allow an unbiased valuation and to identify managing situations that require a short term response.

Cyanide ion, is an environmentally significant pollutant in many industrial wastewaters. Therefore, a considerable number of methods have been studied for the wastewater treatment containing cyanide. the goal of our work consists in applying a simple and economic process for solving this problem of pollution. The removal of cyanide ions by using three anion exchange membranes has been studied under Donnan dialysis conditions as a function of initial concentration of cyanide, receiver phase composition and co-existence anions in the feed phase. The feasibility of the system was examined and the highest cyanide removal was obtained when the initial concentration of cyanide on the feed phase was 10-2 M. In addition, the accompanying counter-anions were also influenced in the cyanide transport in the order chloride > hydrogenocarbonate > sulphate. It was also observed that the cyanide transport efficiency of the Neosepta AFN was higher than that of the Neosepta AM3 and IONAC MA3475XL membranes. The better result for AFN membrane was obtained with chloride ion as a counter-anion in the receiver phase.

Landscape fragmentation has threatened the landscape continuity of Ray which was maintained from prehistoric times until recent decades. From 19th century that Tehran sprawl growth affected Ray’s landscape as a satellite city of Tehran, Ray experienced rapid landscape fragmentation and underwent many changes. In order to cope with the threat, the process of changes from landscape fragmentation should be studied. For this purpose, integrated approach was applied to assess landscape fragmentation. Landscape fragmentation is analyzed based on physical and quantitative evaluation using landscape metrics and perceptual and quantitative evaluation through an in-depth interview with natives. The results have cleared an image of the structural changes and also great change of people’s perception during the time. Based on the results, Ray’s landscape is structurally fragmented, but native do not perceive it. This is while people perceive landscape functional fragmentation. This inconsistent perception of landscape has caused the native’s dissatisfaction about their living place. With the prepared image of landscape fragmentation in the City of Ray, city managers, designers, and planners will be able to deal with rapid changes and preserve landscape continuity of Ray.

This paper dealswith thermo-mineral groundwater of theMondragone plain (Campania, southern Italy) and the possibility to use this low enthalpy geothermal resource. In the NW sector of this plain, at the bottom of Mt. Pizzuto, near the sea, there are thermo-mineral waters (50 °C) of sodium chloride type, sulfureous and rich in CO2 whose recharge is from the Mt. Pizzuto groundwater body. In the SE sector of the plain, close to the calcareous Mt. Petrino, a 80 m deep well has intercepted, in the carbonate basement of the plain, thermo-mineral groundwater (33 °C), sulfureous and rich in CO2, as in the NW sector, but displaying a calcium-bicarbonate composition. The chemical and the isotopic analyses allowed to verify that these types of groundwater are due both to meteoric waters infiltration and to enrichment of endogenous CO2 and H2S, at fairly high temperature. In the Petrinum well, the gases involve “connate waters”, affecting upwards the groundwater body of Mt. Petrino. Moreover, the rising of the gases increases the dissolution of the carbonate aquifer, determining very high values of HCO3 ions in the thermo-mineral groundwater. In the case of Mt. Pizzuto, the upwelling gas intercepts also evaporitic formation and, probably, causes saltwater intrusion. The upwelling of the gases occurs along the major fault that crosses NE-SW the plain of Mondragone. Finally, the understanding of the mineralization patterns allowed to identify in the plain the best location for a geothermal exploration well.

A floating polymer-supported photocatalyst based on polystyrene impregnated with titanium dioxide particles was developed using a facile solvent-cast method at ambient temperature. The prepared photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of the developed photocatalysts was investigated using methylene blue dye. The prepared polystyrene-supported titanium dioxide photocatalysts successfully removed color from the aqueous solution without any additional pH adjustment under ultraviolet (254 nm) irradiation and non-stirred, non-anchored conditions. The maximum color removal achieved by the optimized photocatalyst (10 weight percent loading of Degussa P25 with respect to amount of polystyrene) was around 93% after 7.5 h of ultraviolet light exposure. Further, the photocatalyst sheets were also tested for recovery and reuse. The efficiency of color removal achieved by the optimized photocatalyst on reuse was in the range of 99–100%. The developed photocatalyst seems to be a promising candidate that can be further investigated for large scale commercial applications.

This 4x2 factorial study compared the effect of four sites (A=Siphon as upstream, and B=Shahdera, C=Sunder and D= Balloki as 3 downstream sites) during low and high flow seasons of river Ravi on metal cconcentrations in muscles from Cirrhinus (C) mrigala, a bottom feeder carp. While weight and length of studied specimens did not differ significantly (P>0.05). Overall metal accumulations appeared in the order of calcium (Ca) > sodium (Na) > potassium (K) > magnesium (Mg) > zinc (Zn) > iron (Fe) > manganese (Mn) > copper (Cu) > chromium (Cr) > lead (Pb) > nickel (Ni) > cadmium (Cd). The sampling sites were significantly different (P<0.001) for all the metals except Mg. The metal accumulation pattern for sites was C > B > D > A, except Mg, Pb, Mn, Ni, Zn and Fe. The macro metal contents, except K and trace metals except Cd were significantly higher during low flow than the high flow season. The bioaccumulation of Cd, Cr and Mn were greater than those permissible for human consumption by the WHO standards. The most alarming results contradict the views of local fish consumers that riverine fish are more healthy and valuable than the pond fish. This fish species inhabiting the downstream sites was more polluted and may be a source of risk to consumer health. Regular monitoring is obligatory to evaluate eco-health of the river Ravi by choosing perhaps C. mrigala as a bio-indicator which might provide reliable measurements to frequently assess environmental quality of rivers.

Limitation of water resources and necessity in profitable production, and consequently productivity enhancement has taken crop production by means of unconventional water into consideration. In this study, the effect of different levels of zeolite and nitrifying bacteria were investigated on nitrogenous compounds absorption in a closed system of carp breeding with alfalfa. Treatments of zeolites at three levels (with a weight percent of 0, 5, and 10%) and bacterial treatments including two levels (without bacteria and with nitrifying bacteria) were used for six weeks in such way that produced effluent of the carp breeding from an experiment unit were entered to alfalfa culturing medium; so a closed cycle was established. The results of this studyshowed that use of zeolite and nitrifying bacteria significantly decreased ammonia values in comparison to the control in effluent, in addition, nitrate amount in treatments containing zeolite and bacteria were significantly (P> 0.05) more than the control treatments. Dry weights of alfalfa in the treatments containing zeolite and bacteria were more than the control treatments; additionally, use of bacteria was also significant on dry weight of alfalfa (P> 0.05).This study showed that application of zeolite and nitrifying bacteria to soil, conversion of ammonia to nitrate happens during nitrification that improves water quality of aquaculture and causes more uptake of nitrate by plant that reduces water and soil pollution by this element.

Diversification of phosphorus sources can bring substantial synergy effects within all the sustainable development domains: environmental, economic and social, and such an opportunity should not be overlooked. Urban sinks accumulate phosphorus and other elements and may serve as sources of secondary raw materials. This paper evaluates phosphorus sources based on their total material requirement (TMR). Resource requirements and emissions of the conventional phosphorus production from mining through the acid route processing have been quantified and have been used as a yardstick against which to measure the performance of two recycling options: spreading of sewage sludge and phosphorus recovery from municipal solid waste incineration fly ash (MSWA). The sludge spreading had the lowest TMR. Phosphorus extracted from the MSWAhad four-fold higher TMR than the conventional production. However, method modifications were suggested and are currently being tested, which reduce the methods TMR well below the TMR of the phosphorus production from the ore. The entire impact of the Swedish mineral fertilizer demand can be avoided by recycling urban sinks of phosphorus. Sweden can become self-sufficient in mineral fertilizer because the phosphorus quantities imported in food and later found in the urban sinks such as food waste, sewage sludge and MSW incineration residues cover the entire necessary quantity.

During the Croatian Homeland war in 1991, the capacitor batteries of the Zadar electric power substation (TS 110/35 kV) were damaged, resulting in the severe pollution of the soil with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Due to porosity of karstic soil PCBs represent great environmental and human health risks that need some action. The polluted soil was collected and an experimental field was formed. This paper reports the behaviour of PCBs in karstic soil over an extended period of time under field conditions. Vertical movement of PCBs through the soil profiles was also observed. The soil was sampled four times. The initial median levels of Aroclor 1248 in the surface soil layer were 76.5 μg g-1. The levels of PCB in the soil layers collected after initial stage were quite variable. In general, PCB patterns were dominated by low-chlorinated homologue groups (<5 Cl groups). The dominant indicator PCB congeners initially present in the soil were PCB 28 and PCB 52. At the end of the experiment, in surface soil layer, the levels of PCB 28 decreased significantly (38%), while the levels of PCB 52 decreased at a smallier rate with time 15%). In the observed time periods the levels of higher PCBs (n>6) were relatively stable. The results show that the total PCB concentration in the soil around the roots significantly dropped by 36% while in the deeper soil layer decreased for 18%.

Suspended particles with aerodynamic diameters not greater than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) were sampled at the urban background, regional background and urban traffic points in southern Poland. In total, 120 samples were collected between 2nd August 2009 and 27th December 2010. 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organic carbon (OC) were determined in each sample. The samples were collected with a high volume sampler (Digitel). Afterwards, they were chemically analysed with a gas chromatograph equipped with a flame ionization detector (Perkin Elmer Clarus 500) and thermo-optical carbon analyser (Sunset Laboratory Inc.).Over the whole measurement period, the mean concentrations of the sum of 16 PM2.5 bound PAHs and particular compounds within this group were very high at each measurement point. Particularly high values were observed for the heating season, in which the concentrations of the PAH sum and BaP exceeded 56 and 7 ng/m3 (regional background), 343 and 25 ng/m3 (urban background), and 166 and 14 ng/m3 (urban traffic), respectively. It was showed that the emission related to heat production, particularly municipal emission (coal combustion in home furnaces in cities and coal and wood combustion in the countryside) were the main sources of the air pollution with PAHs in Silesia.Additionally, the traffic emission had probablya slight influence on the ambient concentrations of the PM2.5-bound PAHs.

Aluminum oxide nanoparticles are the most widely used nanoparticles in various industries.The increasing use of nanoparticles in the past two decades and their entry into the industrial and non-industrial waste water necessitates the assessment of potential effects of these substances in aquatic ecosystems. OECD standard method was applied to determine the toxicity of this substance. After performing the detection range testing, the cells of 7 treatments and 2 controls were counted every 24 hours for 72 hours in three replicates for each concentration. After extraction, chlorophyll a and carotenoid were measured using spectrophotometry. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to image the exposure of the algae cells to nanoparticles. The 72-hour levels of EC10, EC50, EC90, and NOEC, specific growth rate (μ), doubling time (G), and percent inhibition (I%) were also calculated. The obtained 72-hour levels were EC10=1.6610-, EC50=0.162, EC90=15.31, and NOEC=16.2×10-2mg/L. The control and treatment algae had a significant difference in terms of cell density and growth inhibition rate (p<0.05). Aluminum oxide nanoparticles had a significant impact on the shape and topography of Dunaliella salina cells and resulted in their swelling and enlargement. A significant difference existed in chlorophyll a and carotenoid concentrations between the treatment and control groups and the levels of carotenoid decreased following increase in concentration of treatments (p<0.05). Aluminum oxide nanoparticles have a significant toxic effect on Dunaliella salina. With increasing nanoparticles concentration, Dunaliella salina chlorophyll and carotenoid concentration reduced significantly (p<0.05).

Concentrations of 42 trace elements, including rare earths, in Croatian thermal waters were investigated. Originating from different parts of Croatia, i.e. different types of aquifers, studied thermal waters provide insight into the range of concentrations of broad spectrum of elements in Croatian thermal waters. Covering a wide range of temperature (30 - 92 °C), studied thermal waters are generally classified as geothermal springs (Hrvatsko Zagorje and Lipik) and low-temperature geothermal reservoirs (Bizovac), differing from each other not only by temperature but also by geochemical composition. Thermal waters from Bizovac Spa, from the eastern part of Croatia, were found significantly enriched in majority of measured elements in comparison with waters from Hrvatsko zagorje and Lipik. Significant variability between studied waters was also observed regarding the rare earth elements levels and fractionation patterns, substantially different normalized REE patterns and wide range of Eu and Ce anomalies, ranging from 0.10 to 0.84 and from 3.48 to 159, respectively. Characterized by near-neutral to alkaline pH (6.8 - 8.1) and great variability with respect to the geochemical composition, studied waters were found to primarily reflect the underlying geology.

The study aimed to investigate the adsorption mechanism of di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) on brown soil and red soil in Shenyang and Hunan province, respectively, China. Adsorption kinetics and isotherms experiments were conducted at 288, 298 and 308 K, respectively. Results of kinetics showed that adsorption of DBP exhibited a two-step process in both brown and red soil. Different models were used to simulate adsorption isotherms and the linear form of Freundlich model fitted to the data best. Sorption capacity was larger and sorption intensity was weaker on the brown soil than the red at same temperature. Sorption capacity decreased and sorption intensity enhanced with temperature increased on both soils. In addition, the thermodynamic data were analyzed which suggested that the process was a spontaneous and exothermal process on the two soils. The values of enthalpy changes were around 40 kJ/mol in the two soils, indicating that the dominant affection was physical adsorption. Furthermore the main forces were hydrogen bond and ion exchange proved by thermodynamic data and infrared spectral analyses.

The toxicity of four potentially toxic trace elements (Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) to Annual Atriplex (A. hortensis and A. rosea) was examined to determine if this plant showed sufficient tolerance to be used to phytoremediate soils polluted with these heavy metals. The soils, which contained up to (per kilogram) 501 mg Cu, 1674 mg Ni, 1334 mg Pb and 3588 mg of Zn were sampled around metal contaminated site in southwest of France. We submit therefore that it could be that the presence of some heavy metals accumulated in the plants may have reached toxic levels thereby causing inhibition to their growth and pigment contents. The plant growth expressed as shoot and root dry weight of Atriplex plant was adversely inhibited when exposed to high concentrations of polluted soil. Significant increases in chlorophyll content were observed in leaves for three Atriplex varieties after the plants were exposed to stress treatments. The carotenoid and anthocyanin content also decreased. Red variety of Atriplex accumulated more anthocyanins in leaves than green and rosea ones. The lipid peroxidation increased, considerably at 100% polluted soil, which is a typical plant reaction to the oxidative stress. We proposed for the reduction state of photosynthetic parameters to be a useful tool in bioassay toxicity testing of metal polluted soil. These results demonstrate that heavy metal contamination of soil has adversely affected the photosynthetic parameters of annual Atriplex. The present study shows that exposure to heavy metals induced oxidative stress which was accompanied by growth inhibition, enhanced lipid peroxidation levels, increase content of chlorophyll, decrease content of carotenoids and anthocyanins. Finally, it was concluded that annual Atriplex has a high ability to tolerate Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn, so it might be a promising plant to be used for phytostabilization of metal contaminated soil.

Wetlands are ecosystems with specific features and functions which have been unfortunately damaged by recent pressures and limitations. Fast reduction of surface flows, water and wind erosion of soil, changes in the quality of water and soil resources, increasing exploitation of underground water, agricultural development, climate change, etc. have had the most effect on these ecosystems. So this study shows that in the last two decades, the level of groundwater has dramatically decreased as a result of human activities. Together with the decrease of water resources in Agh-Gol wetland area, land use has been also changed with a faster pace. Considering the studies on land use changes it can be stated that the amount of water in the area have had a decreasing rate so that it has been completely dried up these days. But hydrology studies warn us that there has been a thirty- five-meter reduction of water level in last years the main reason of which is planting products with the high water requirement. Also the minus water balance of this sub-area shows the unsuitable situation there. In general, this area has been faced with an instability which is caused by mismanagement. With a precise observation and control on water withdrawal from wells, using counters and plumbing illegal wells, banning planting close to thewetland, changing the planting patterns toward the productswith lesswater requirement and also optimizing watering,we can be hopeful that in future the situation will be improved andAgh-Golwetlandwill revive.

The potential of six economically cheap agricultural waste materials, viz. rice husk, betel nut peels, sugarcane molasses, tea waste, mustard oil cake and saw dust, was investigated for copper and lead removal from aqueous solutions under batch and continuous conditions. The effect of pH, contact time, sorbent dose and initial metal ion concentration on the uptake of copper and lead was first examined in batch mode. Rice husk was found to be the best among the tested biosorbents with a maximum removal of 72.17 % and 85.87 % for copper and lead, respectively. The batch sorption data correlated well with SIPS, Redlich- Peterson, Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms models. Heavy metal sorption kinetics was best explained by the diffusion based second order kinetics model. Fourier transform infrared analysis of rice husk, before and after heavy metal sorption, revealed the involvement of mainly hydroxyl, amine, and carboxyl functional groups in lead and copper removal by rice husk. Dynamic removal of lead and copper by rice husk was examined as a function of different bed height and flow rate using fixed-bed columns, which yielded a maximum saturation time of 14 hours. The metal breakthrough curves obtained were analysed using the Thomas, BDST, Yoon-Nelson and Clark breakthrough models. The simulation of breakthrough curve for the metals was successful with BDST, Yoon-Nelson and Clark models. Removal of bound lead/copper from the loaded column was finally achieved by using 0.1M HCl as the eluant, which yielded complete desorption of the metals in nearly 60 min.

Ordered mesoporous carbon CMK-3 (OMC) have been synthesized using mesoporous SBA- 15 silica as template and modified with cobalt carbonate. Morphologies and surface texturing of materials were characterized by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms. The cobalt modified ordered mesoporous carbon were found to have a surface area of 490.06m2/g and pore volume of 0.42cm3/g. The adsorption behavior of 1, 10-Phenanthroline (OP) and 2, 2'-bipyridine (BP) on cobalt modified ordered mesoporous carbon (Co+2-OMC) were studied in aqueous system. The parameter such as temperature, contact time and initial OP and BP concentrations was investigated. Batch adsorption studies demonstrate that the cobalt containing CMK-3 has significant capacity for adsorption of OP and BP from aqueous solution. The adsorption processes of OP and BP are tested with langmuir and freundlich isotherm models. According to the langmuir isotherms, the maximum adsorption capacities of OP and BP on Co+2-OMC were 595 and 500 mg/g, respectively.

This study investigated single-step extraction of heavy metals from contaminated sediments collected in the port of Cádiz. Experimental tests of washing with an aqueous solution of a chelating agent were performed at selected solid/liquid (S/L) ratios. Two chelating agents were chosen: 0.3 M EDTA(pH 3.8 and 8) and sodium citrate (1 M). The objective of the tests was to investigate extractive decontamination by the washing treatment. The study was focused on the extraction of Pb, Cu, Zn, and Cd. The experiments showed that the decontamination efficiencies of the extractants were of the order: EDTA (pH 3.8) > EDTA (pH 8) ~ sodium citrate. EDTAsolution with slightly acid pH was optimal for the extraction of Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd. The data obtained from the thermal analysis of sediments after the decontamination process indicated the success of the extraction procedurewhich is proposed as a technique for controlling the behaviour of the decontamination process.

The southeastern part of Turkey is quite rich, fertile and mature in terms of hydrocarbon seepages. While the use of the related sources meet the energy demand, it damages the environment and human health. In this study, several geochemical methods were applied to analyze the hydrocarbon sepage samples obtained from seven towns in the province of Adiyaman where is very close to the oil production areas and located in the Southeastern part of Turkey. First of all, Total Organic Carbon (TOC), Rock Evil Paralysis, Gas Chromatography (GC) and Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry analyses (GC – MS) were performed for the samples in question. In the light of these results, oil/bitumen mechanisms, source rock correlations, formation and migration mechanisms of the related geological environments were found. Then, Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) analysis of Fe, Al, Mn, Mn, Zn, B, Pb, Ni, Cu metals were performed. Chemical and mineralogical features of the samples were investigated by IR and combined with ESR spectra. The samples display typical ESR spectra of Mn+2 ions hyperfine sextet whose last line was used to check the stones homogenity with respect to manganase content. In this study, heavy metal pollution and hydrocarbon compounds were determined to damage the environment and several suggestions were made to overcome the pollution and to enhance the productivity

Different patterns of pressure systems together with local factors, leads in generation, rising and spread of dust in West of Iran. In this study, to investigate the factors causing the occurrence of dust in Kermanshah province, 132 cases of dust phenomena (code: 06) were selected and analyzed using Kermanshah synoptic station data for the spring and summer seasons in a period of 5 years (2005 2009). The Factor analysis had been implemented and days with higher correlation coefficient extracted, then clustering operation was performed on the data. 4 dust emission patterns were identified and from each pattern, a certain pattern was selected as a representative day. Using GRADS and NCEP data, maps of geopotential heights, wind speed and vorticity advection were produced and analyzed. To identify the source of dust generation, tracing and simulating the path of dust, HYSPLIT model Lagrangian approach of backward trajectory was used. Generally existence of low pressure cells in the central and southern regions of Iran can lead to the convergence and air intake at near ground levels and strong positive vorticity, which result in cyclonic movements in western regions of Iran Including Kermanshah. These results in the transfer of dust from the dry desert areas of Iraq and high speed winds in the lower levels of dust particles in the region has accelerated the transfer rate. Based on the HYSPLIT outputs, major sources of dust generation, were arid zones of Southern Turkey, Iraq deserts, Syria, North East of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

This study investigates the status of heavy metals contaminations in urban soils of Ostrava in the Czech Republic. The main aim of this study was determination of concentration of Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu, Mn, V and Hg, assessment of contamination levels of metals in urban soils and verification of potential source of metals contamination. Soil samples were collected from soil layer of 20 cm and metals were determined by atomic spectroscopy methods (F AAS, GF AAS, AMA 254). It was concluded that metals concentrations in studied soils increased in the following order:Hg < Cd < Cu < Pb < V < Zn Keywords: Contamination, Heavy metals, Urban soils, Industrial city, Correlation, Principal Component Analysis