محمدصالح علی طالشی

Atmospheric dust particles play a significant role in the transfer of chemical elements released from industrial and urban sources. So that the contaminants attached to these particles, can be transported over long distances and are as a function of meteorological conditions, the physical and chemical properties and nature of surface. The aim of this study was to evaluate the metal richness and degree of heavy metal contamination in atmospheric deposited dust in Tehran.

Atmospheric dust samples were collected from eight locations in Tehran in 2018. Heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr, Mn and Al) were analyzed in dust using ICP-MS. Metal richness and degree of contamination were determined using Enrichment Factor (EF), Geoaccumulation Index (Igeo), degree of Contamination (Cd) and modified degree of contamination (mCd). Paired t-test, Pearson correlation and Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) were also used for analysis.

The mean concentration trend of elements in the warm and cold seasons was similar as Al>Zn>Mn>Pb>Cu>Cr>Ni. Results of enrichment factor index in atmospheric deposited dust showed that Pb and Zn in warm season and Pb and Cu in cold season were highly enriched. Paired t-test results showed a significant difference between Cu and Cr between seasons. Cluster analysis also showed Al of natural origin and other elements of anthropogenic origin.

The results of this study showed that atmospheric deposited dust particles of Tehran have high levels of contamination especially in cold season. Therefore, it is necessary to formulate more effective and practical policies to improve Tehran’s air quality.

Street dust is an environmental medium with complex composition in urban environment. Heavy metals remain in urban dust for a long time and re-suspended in the atmosphere. This study aimed to evaluate the metal richness and degree of contamination in Tehran street dust. 

Dust samples were collected from nine locations in Tehran in 2018. Heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Pb, Zn, Fe, and Al) were analyzed in street dust using ICP-MS. Metal richness and degree of contamination were determined using Enrichment Factor (EF), Geoaccumulation Index (Igeo), degree of Contamination (Cd) and modified degree of contamination (mCd). Pearson correlation (PC) and Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) were also used for analysis.

The mean concentration trend of elements was as Al (53486.54)> Fe (46535.07)> Zn (638.14)> Pb (200.33)> Cr (111.94), Cd (0.49) mg/kg. The highest metal enrichment was due to Pb and Zn. The geoaccumulation index also showed that Cd and Pb had the highest values. Degree of contamination indices also showed high levels of contamination in street dust. Significant correlation was observed between Zn-Cr-Pb and Pb-Cd. Significant negative correlation was also observed between relative humidity-Pb-Zn. Elemental clustering also showed that Pb, Zn, Cr, and Cd had anthropogenic sources and Fe and Al had natural sources of diffusion.    

The results of this study showed that the street dust of Tehran is highly polluted. Therefore, this environmental medium can have significant negative effects. Therefore, continuous monitoring of street dust is essential.

Emission inventory of mobile sources is an essential element for studying the air quality. In order to support the development of public policies with an approach to reducing the overall mass emissions of air pollutants, the aim of the current study was preparation of a GIS based emission inventory of Karaj mobile sources air pollutants.

In the present study in 2016, the International vehicle emission model (IVE) was used to estimate the amount of emissions of CO2, CO, NOx, VOCs, SOx and PM and the GIS environment was used to show the distribution of pollutants emissions during the morning rush hours in Karaj pathways.

The results showed that the maximum amount of air pollutants released during morning rush hours was as CO2 (5944.07)> CO (297.55)> NOx (32.70)> VOCs (31.16)> PM (21.24)> SOx (1.102) Kg/h in Karaj. Heavy vehicles were responsible for maximum emission of CO2, NOx and PM and light vehicles were responsible for the release of CO, VOCs and SOx.

This inventory is useful for politicians and researchers to better understand the current conditions of air pollution in the region and will provide a vital input for air quality modeling and policy making.

Workplaces have increased the risk of environmental pollutions. The aim of this study was to evaluate heavy metal pollution in the floor dust of mechanical workplaces in Yazd city.
This cross-sectional analytic study was conducted in 2014. Through stratified random sampling, 30 mechanical workplaces in Yazd, Iran were selected. After sampling, the concentration of heavy metals in samples was measured by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). The potential environmental risk index (RI), integrated pollution index (IPI), contamination factor (Cf), the modified degree of Contamination (mCd) and Pearson correlation coefficient in SPSS v.23 were used for data analyses.
The trend of concentration of heavy metals in the floor dust particles of mechanical workplaces was Fe>Zn>Cu>Pb>Mn>Cr>Cd. Hence, mean concentration of Fe in the samples was 27095 mg kg-1 and that of Cd was 31 mg kg-1. According to Pearson correlation test, Mn had a significant correlation with Cr, Fe, and Cu at the 0.01 significance level. Also, RI showed that Yazd mechanical workplaces have a considerable degree of risk.
The results showed very high levels of pollution by cadmium, lead and copper in mechanical workshops that can be due to the interaction of heavy metals in workplace scraps with dust from man-made origin.

Air pollution is one of the most important problems in megacities. To provide comprehensive reduction plan for air pollution and pollutants emission prevention, first it must be estimated the amount and importance of major pollutants emission from various sources. The aims of this study were estimation the air pollutants emission from mobile sources and spatial modelling for each pollutant in Karaj. International vehicle emission model (IVE) was used to obtain air pollutants emission factors based on vehicle type. Finally, the annual pollutants emissions of vehicle fleet were calculated and spatial distribution of pollutants emissions based on traffic data and road networks were mapped in GIS environment. The results showed that the maximum annual emission of air pollutants including carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matters (PM) and carbon dioxide (CO2) were estimated about 1688.84, 185.61, 6.26, 31.16, 120.54 and 33737.04 t y-1, respectively. The highways and the heavy vehicles were the major source for PM and NOx. In addition, the arterial roads and light vehicles were the main source for CO and VOCs. Despite the highest SOx emission factor was for heavy vehicles, the total SOx emission from light vehicles was higher than heavy vehicles because of their numbers. Also, the highest emissions amount of pollutants in municipal districts of Karaj were in 3, 4 and 6 and the lowest amount were in 1, 8 and 9.

Human activities cause to the accumulation of heavy metals in soil. Soil pollution will significantly reduce environmental quality and affect human health. This study aimed to determine the concentration of some heavy metals (Ni, Pb, Fe, Zn, Cr and Cd) and evaluate the effects of Kerman steel industry on concentration of soil heavy metals. A total of 60 samples from the surface soil and a depth of 0-15 cm were collected at different distances from Kerman steel complex and analyzed with Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). Some indices of pollution including Contamination factor (Cf), Pollution index (PI), Pollution load index (PLI), Pollution Intensity index (Ipoll), Potential contamination index (Cp) were calculated to assess the levels of soil contamination. The Pearson correlation, principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) was used to determine the origin of pollutants. The results were showed the trend of heavy metal concentration in the study area as Fe>Zn>Pb>Ni>Cr>Cd respectively. The maximum of studied indices was related to Pb and then Zn. Pearson correlation was showed that Zn with Cd and Pb with Cr had significant positive correlation. A PCA results of Cf index was stay Zn and Pb in the first cluster. In the other words, these two elements are more human origin. This study showed that the study area does not need to severe remedial action; however, continuous monitoring of environment is essential.

The optimal management of hospital waste is essential to protect the public health and environment. The aim of the present study is to investigate the variables of hospital waste management in terms of their compliance with the ISO 14001 standard. In addition to identivying the weaknesses of waste management, some strategies are presented overcome them.
This study was carried out in 2013. The required data for hospital waste sector were obtained using a questionnaire and the Tables designed by World Health Organization (WHO). Condition of the environmental management of the wastes was described using the questionnaire, the environmental management system standard (ISO 14001), the national standard of Iran, and Likert range. All the data were analyzed by SPSS 16.
Findings: Results showed that the conditions in the studied hospitals were lower than the hypothetical average (3) in terms of some variables such as identification of environmental aspects, planning for achieving the macro and micro goals; receiving the necessary training, drafting functions and responsibilities of waste management, and preparation for emergency response. In order to identify the environmental aspects of hospital waste, results showed that from 2307.82 Kg of the waste produced in hospitals daily, 62.23% were general waste, 36.17% were infectious waste and 0.58% were sharp substances. There was a significant correlation between the numbers of provided services in hospitals and the rate of daily generated waste (r= 0.992¡ P=0.008). Moreover, there was a significant regression relation between the overall area of hospitals and the rate of daily generated waste (P=0.02).

Urban and industrial development has increased concentration of heavy metals in the environment. The goal of this study was to assess the impact of Kerman steel complex on their surrounding soil by heavy metals.
This study was a snapshot and its type was descriptive-analytical research. Heavy metals contents from 60 soil samples (top soil, 0-15 cm) near two Steel Complexes were analyzed using flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Source identification and pollution degree indices including enrichment factor (EF) and its percentage (EF%), geo-accumulation index (Igeo), contamination factor (Cf), degree of contamination (Cd) and modified degree of contamination (mCd) were calculated to assess the soil pollution level.
The average concentration of Ni, Zn, Fe, Pb, Cr and Cd were 9.98, 54.38, 15063.33, 20.86, 3.54 and 0.038 mg/kg, respectively. The order of average EF for heavy metals was Pb > Zn> Cd> Fe> Ni> Cr. Cf index also showed that 90% of the samples were moderately to significantly polluted with lead element. The results of EF% indicated that Fe (68.18%) had higher enrichment than others. The average values of Cd and mCd indices were 2.90 and 0.48, respectively, that showed low degree of pollution.
In this study, Pb and Cd concentration were related with activities of the steel complexes and other metals had a combination of natural and anthropogenic emission sources. The steel complexes should plan to reduce pollutants emission to their environment.

The presence of industrial workshops has increased urban pollution. This study aimed to investigate the heavy metal pollutants of Yazd battery repairing workshops and to identify the ecological and environmental effects resulted.
This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in Yazd. In this regard, the city was divided into three parts on the basis of geographical features. Then, 30 workshops were selected from each part through stratified random sampling method. Heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cr, Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn) in the floor were measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The impacts assessment of heavy metals was evaluated using environmental potential risk index (RI), cumulative pollution index (IPI), pollution coefficient factor (Cf), and the degree of modified contamination (mCd) and Pearsons correlation statistical test.
The trend of heavy metals concentrations in floor dust particles of workshops was as Fe>Cu>Pb>Zn>Mn>Cr>Cd. Therefore, the average concentrations of Fe and Cd in the samples were 27011.52 ±4721.05 and 78.25±21.07 mg/kg respectively. The results of the RI showed that heavy metal of floor dust had very high danger (2816.29). The mCd value was as 63.35 indicating these workshops were at severe contamination class. The value of Cf was as 304.17 revealing that these workshops were at very severe contamination class.
This research showed that the high concentration of heavy metals in battery repairing workshops is due to the interaction of heavy metals of industrial wastes components, including electrical wastes and battery with the dust having mankind origin.

Application of strategic management processes at the local level can lead to modeling and development of efficient systems of energy, wastewater, and environmental protection through air pollution prevention. This process is only possible through attention to the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of hospitals. This study was conducted with the aim of the presentation of optimal green management strategies in relation to the abovementioned systems using the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) model in educational hospitals of Yazd, Iran.
This was an applied and descriptive-analytic study. The research was performed using a checklist, and through interviews with health professionals and university and educational hospitals administrators during October to March 2013. Internal and external matrices were used for data analysis and the SWOT model was used for formulation of strategies.
Findings: The results of this research showed that the suggested strategies for green management of systems are SO, WO, ST, and WT, respectively. The SO green hospital strategic management plans emphasize the presentation of applicable plans to reduce the use of energy and water carriers, acquisition of new technologies in order to optimize the water and energy consumption technique. They also accentuate attention to observing all points on reusing wastewater or sewage sludge, developing the content of air pollution prevention laws, and compiling an annual report of the actions taken to achieve green management in different wards of educational hospitals.
The results showed that focus on SO strategy in respect to maximizing the use of available internal assets and external opportunities should be the priority for managers of educational hospitals of the province for the implementation of green management and improvement of the quality of health services.

Every week, hemodialysis patients need to approximately 400 l of water for producing dialysis fluids. So, the quality of water used for treatment of hemodialysis patients is an important factor. This study evaluated the performance of reverse osmosis systems of Yazd educational hospitalsdialysis centers for improving the quality of water used. In this study, 48 samples of input and output of reverse osmosis systems collected in two educational hospitals during October to December in 2013. Then samples analyzed from the aspect of the physicochemical parameters such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, total dissolved solids (TDS), sulfate, chloride, total hardness (TH), EC and pH using standard methods of experiment and the results were analyzed using SPSS v.16. software. The findings of research showed that there is significant difference with 99% confidence between input water to reverse osmosis from aspect of calcium, TDS, EC, pH. Results of paired T-Test and evaluation of performance of reverse osmosis showed that there is significant difference between water quality, before and after of system in the hospital No.1. Except chloride and sodium, there is a significant difference between water qualities in two phases in the hospital No.2. The results of this research showed that reverse osmosis system improves the quality of water used for hemodialysis significantly, but in continuous operation may be faced with reduced efficiency. Thus, using combination methods of water treatment is necessary to prevent the physicochemical pollution for ensuring the hemodialysis with good quality.

Inappropriate management of hospital solid wastes is a major issue in Iran that could have negative effects on human health and the environment. The purpose of this study was to assess the hospital wastes management in Yazd educational hospitals by identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and to provide strategic management plans using SWOT method. This work is an applied-developmental research based on the research goals and its research methodology is a mixed (survey and descriptive- analytical) method. The research was performed by completion of a checklist, field inspection, and interviews with the health professionals and administrators of the educational hospitals of Yazd city from October 2012 to March 2013. Internal and external matrices were used for analysis and SWOT method for codification of strategies. To improve waste management in the hospitals based on SWOT matrix; SO, ST, WO and WT guidelines should be put in the priority. Hospital wastes strategic management plans (HWSMP) related to the SO strategy emphasize on paying special attention to: all the provisions of hospital wastes management regulation, environmental standards, allocation of adequate fund for recycling process, applicable research in the field of solid waste, short term monitoring to ensure the accuracy of wastes management performance, and regular training courses on the methods of hospital wastes management. The findings of this research showed that the SO strategy with focusing on maximization of the internal strengths and utilization of external opportunities should be set as a top priority for hospital wastes management in Yazd city to improve the quality of health services.

Today the world is experiencing an unprecedented urbanization. Population growth and urbanization are effective factors on increasing the air temperature in urban areas which cause heat island on these areas than surrounding and the resulted effects from that can play an important and major role in air quality and consequently public health. In this study, Landsat 5 TM data in 2009 as a case study in Tehran metropolis was studied and mono-window algorithm was used for retrieving the distribution of land surface temperature and determination of local heat island effects. In addition, the correlation between LST and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), the normalized difference build-up index (NDBI), the normalized difference bare land index (NDBaI), the normalized difference water index (NDWI), were analyzed to explore the impacts of the green and bare land and the water and build-up land on the urban heat island. The results indicate that the effect of urban heat island in Tehran is mainly located in west industrial and east and southeast Mountain regions. The correlation between LST and NDVI, NDBI, NDWI, NDBaI also indicates that the negative correlation of LST and NDVI and NDWI suggests that the green and water land could weaken the effect on urban heat island, while the positive correlation between LST and NDBI and NDBaI means that the built-up and Bare land can strengthen the effect of urban heat island in our case study.

One of the goals specified in the document of natural resources and watershed development in 1404 is promotion of awareness of environmental and natural resources, so one of the strategies to achieve this approach is environmental education and culture in higher education so that sustainable development can be achieved. in this regard, in this study was investigated the levels of in natural resources - environment engineering M.Sc. students about environmental standard series specially 14000 in Environmental Management System and also the importance of this standards series in observation of students in sustainable development. about this, 5 universities were selected from 12 universities offering this course in M.Sc. 104 questionnaires given out between students and collected after fulfillment. Assessable data analyzed using the SPSS program. Statistical results of this research indicate that the mean of awareness of students about concepts of standards is between low and median and about importance of application and total aims of ISO 14000 is between median and high. In relation to awareness in different section doesn’t indicate significant difference between two sexes. The result of this study doesn’t indicate significant difference in level of awareness in different universities’ students from this standards series. It is worth mentioning that according to the awareness of student, it was proved that ISO 14000 standards series could lead the management of organization to sustainable development.

ISO 14000 standards series can increase competitiveness, productivity, and hospitals’ credibility and reduce costs and lead environmental management syst-ems into green hospitals with low impact on the environment. This study aims to dete-rmine solutions of meeting green hospital standards in Yazd educational hospitals based on ISO 14000 standards series in 2013. This research is an applied, descriptive study carried out in 2013. The study population included Yazd educational hospitals. Using a ques-tionnaire, the required data were collected based on variables of environmental man-agement system in hospitals.The content validity was approved regarding the design and quantification of instrument while reliability was confirmed by pre-test using Cronbah alpha Coefficient as 0.9314. The SPSS software (version 16.0) was used for statistical analysis. Based on results of this research, comparing ten variables on green hospital management in four Yazd educational hospitals with hypothetical average (3) using one sample t-test indicated that there is no significant difference among four educational hospitals (P = 0.734 CI = 95%). Furthermore, results of Kruskal-Wallis test demonstrated a significant difference am-ong the hospitals (P = 0.035 CI=95%). Finally, HCA technique resulted in clusteringsimilar questions in line with their corresponding answers. Discussion and The findings of this research showed that inadequate attention to environmental strategies, ina-dequate environmental training, improper management of wastes, inadequate allocate-on of fund for the management of wast-ewater and emission of pollutants into the air are the most important obstacles in achieving green hospital standards in Yazd educational hospitals and developing ma-nagement strategies and their imple-mentation by continuous training seems essential. Keywords: